Peace and Love equeals Insanity
by Annabelinda Tsuki
Summary: Gaara: vessel of Shukaku. Sakura: vessel of demon unknown. Tsunade: The medic in charge of these two's asylum cases. When these two are forced together, interesting things start happening. And what does Kakashi have to do with it all? Rated violence kiss.
1. Prologue: Stories

Disclaimer: This is a fan-fic, therefore I am fully ready to admit that this is just that, a fan-fic, which means, by definition, it is impossible for this sleep-deprived, half-insane, fan-fic addicted girl to own Naruto or any of its characters. Got it? Good!

Well, Ran went all over the place this time. She has been forcing this idea down my mental throat all day, and so, just to please her, I am forced to write it. She wouldn't even let me shower in peace, oh no, she had to go make me start up on a plot, which Miki immediately started criticizing. Su is just happy that she gets to dust, polish, and shine it later.

Onto the story!

_Inner Sakura_

**Inner Gaara**

"Talking…"

_**(Author Notes)**_

Chapter One: Stories

"Sakura? Are you there?" Shizune asked, hesitantly stepping into the pitch-black room.

Sakura had flipped over her bed again and was hiding behind it. Peering around the post, Sakura saw Shizune's frame in the well-lit doorway.

"You know I don't like light!" Sakura said viciously. "Go away, Shizune, I refuse to talk today."

Shizune closed the door behind her, allowing the darkness to envelope her. "You don't have to talk, just listen." When Sakura didn't say anything, Shizune went on. "You and I are being transferred." Again, not a word from Sakura. "I have had your case ever since I first started working here. I was an intern, just waiting to finally be free from this place, when you came in. Nobody knew anything about you, only that you had carved the 'peace' kenji into your chest. You helped me decide to stay here."

As Sakura continued to hide behind her bed, Shizune continued. "There is this well known doctor, Docter Tsunade, and she has cured several patients that everybody thought were incurable. She has requested a crack at your case."

"Everybody has tried my case!" Sakura retaliated, instantly changing moods. "Every three to four months somebody new is waiting in that stupid room! I scare off each and every one of them! I don't want to see this Tsunade."

"Sakura, please just listen." Shizune pleaded. "Doctor Tsunade is a med-nin, a Suunin level. I actually believe she can help."

"When will you guys finally figure out that there isn't anything to cure?" Sakura asked, venom pouring from her mouth. "This is who I am, deal with it!"

Shizune wasn't going to continue taking this from Sakura. "I don't care what you think; you and I are being transferred there tomorrow. You have never left the hospital, so you don't understand how things work. I will come in and tie up your hands, gag you, and then you and I will ride in a truck. At all times a gun will be held to your head. Is that understood?"

Sakura knew when to give into Shizune. "Yes, Shizune."

"Good, I brought you a bag so that you can put all of your books in it." Shizune tossed a bag into the middle of the floor and left the room.

As soon as Shizune was out of the room, she sagged against the wall. The guard next to Sakura's door eyed her for a second. Shizune waved off his hand.

Sakura…nothing really was known about the girl. It had been a late-night, 11:00 at night; shifts were just ending, when a car pulled up to the front with a man carrying a girl with bubble-gum pink hair inside a blanket. As soon as he had crossed the threshold, the man had collapsed, from blood-loss. The man had died there in the mental-hospital, begging on thing. We had to take care of the girl, no matter what. The man had also said one last thing, the girl was an orphan, and she was insane. Later, they had looked up the man; he had been wearing a badge. He had been a police-ninja, investigating the deaths of an entire family. Apparently, the man had taken the girl away from the crime-scene secretly and taken care of her. Sakura must have had a flip-out and attempted to murder this man, _too_. Everything pointed to Sakura having killed the family and the cop, but more importantly, the family she had killed hadn't been her own.

Shizune always wondered how many people Sakura had killed before coming to the facility. She had been five, and so innocent looking in the blanket, when Shizune had gone to clean up the wound on her chest and on her wrists. This girl…she could be docile and nice one moment, savage and ravenous the next, and end up depressed and untouchable. Some days she would talk, some days she would not, but never could anybody touch her unless it was to treat serious wounds, and the wounds had to be really serious.

Shizune sighed as she stood up. Sakura's case was written as second most serious in the Land of Fire, Shizune could only imagine what the first worst case was like.

Ton-ton sighed as he walked into Gaara's room, not even bothering to knock. Gaara really wouldn't like what he had to say. Ton-ton found Gaara reading, as always, in the middle of the night, using a flash-light to highlight the words for him. Gaara had insomnia, sort of. Either way, Gaara couldn't sleep.

"Gaara?"

"What?" Gaara snapped.

"You and I are being transferred to a new hospital."

Gaara didn't look up from his book. As always, Gaara was a statue, never showing a bit of emotion on his face. One could only tell by his tone of voice, sometimes.

"There is a new med-nin in charge of a hospital in Konoha, the Hidden Village of the Leaf, and she has requested your case. We leave tomorrow. Since this is the third time transferring hospitals for you, I won't bother to tell you the details."

"Eventually, you people will give up. I killed the last psychiatrist, and that has ended anybody attempting to _cure_ me. Why can't I kill her?"

"You may know Jetsu, but Lady Tsunade is a Suunin, you can't take her on." And with that, Ton-ton left. He made his way to his locker and quickly stuffed everything into a bag. Ever since he took Gaara's case ten years ago, Ton-ton had moved from hospital to hospital with him, which usually happened after Gaara pissed off some psychiatrist and killed him.

That boy, that evil little boy, the one with the 'love' kenji carved into his forehead, the one who had those eyes intent on blood, he had ruined Ton-ton's life. He had been escorted in one day by two people, a female with blonde hair and a male with face-paint. They checked their 'brother' in and left, never coming to retrieve him. The phone-number they left was phony, along with the credit-card number, which left the village tax-money to pay for what little they could do for Gaara. Maybe if they had more funds for him they could do more.

Well, let's just hope this Tsunade can cure him.

Tsunade read the two files again, smirking. Oh this would be easy. The two were the exact same age, fifteen, each had a kenji carved into them, and each had a hidden seal on their bodies. Of course, the seals didn't usually show themselves, and not many ninjas actually know what a containment seal looks like.

Oh yes, this would be fun. Unlike the other psychiatrists, Tsunade knew exactly what was wrong with them, they were demon-containers. Tsunade knew which demon resided in the red-head, Shukaku the Racoon, but not yet about the girl, it was probably a lesser-demon of some sort. Oh yes, things were going to get really interesting.

Tsunade finished downing a bottle of Sake and looked out the window. Of course, Tsunade would also have to teach them to use jetsu, seeing as how they could wield it, just didn't know how quite yet.

(_**Ok, that was freaking short! Sorry, sorry, hopefully the next chapter will be longer. I expected story time to take up more space, but I guess it didn't. We already know about Gaara's story.**_

_**See ya all in the next chapter!)**_


	2. Deranged Meetings

Disclaimer: My disclaimer is in the first chapter, isn't that good enough? _**Ok, I have made a change. Somebody pointed out that Ton-ton was actually a girl, and to be honest, a pig isn't the best person to be watching over Gaara, he is a pig after all. So, I have replaced him with Kikashi. Ton-ton is about to get fired, turned into a pig, and Kikashi, (I still haven't decided how and why is he suddenly in the medical career), will now take over watching Gaara, one eye on Gaara, the other on his Icha Icha Paradise!**_

Chapter Two: Deranged Meetings

Sakura was barely aware as she was half dragged out of the vehicle and pushed through the entrance of the hospital. When in the world had Shizune drugged her? Probably when Sakura had fallen asleep. Usually Sakura didn't fall asleep, but there was something about the rhythm of the car that had just put her in a deep sleep.

_Are you going to take this? What is wrong with you?_

'I'm drugged, smart-allic.'

_Don't you dare talk to me like that! The drug will wear off in one minute. If you don't shed some blood, I will shed yours!_

Sakura's breath hitched. Anything but blood! Especially her own blood, anything but that. Sakura wiggled her arms, already feeling the drugs begin to wear off. With great care and skill, Sakura dislodged the needle that she had placed underneath a layer of her skin, hiding it effectively from others.

She worked at her bindings, tearing through the fabric that was supposed to contain her. Thirty more seconds and the drugs would be gone, returning Sakura to normal. Twenty…ten…five…three…two…one…

"Shizune!" a female voice called.

Sakura turned around in surprise, foiling the guards that still thought her drugged. There, a woman. She had blonde hair, a big chest, and looked to be around twenty. Sakura decided to make her move, this had to be the medic taking her case, and Sakura wouldn't let the sneaky woman get anywhere near her.

Sakura grabbed a knife from the guard's holster, he had forgotten to strap it up, and sliced his throat. Spinning, Sakura lunged at the other guard's leg, and then laid herself flat on the floor as somebody thought to attack her with their knife. Two more guards died before Sakura was gripped from behind and forced to the floor. Sakura's face came within millimeters of the blood, letting her hair get a thorough soaking in it.

Sakura wanted to gag, but on the inside, Inner Sakura was having a party.

_Blood! Finally, it has been so long! The last psychiatrist made a mistake with the paper-cut! Blood, let me touch it, let me feel it, let me bathe in it, let me drink it._

It was too much for Sakura, she instantly puked up what little breakfast she had had earlier that day. Blood mixed with vomit; Inner Sakura's fun was spoiled, but she settled for what she had.

"That, my dear, was completely uncalled for." A female told her. Sakura saw some blonde-hair out of the corner of her eye. "What ever did those guards do to you?"

Sakura rasped out one single word, "Blood!"

"Take her to clean-up, and then to her room." The woman ordered, beckoning over two guards.

Aware of what she could do, the two guards each gripped a hand and tugged her along, but not before the woman injected something into Sakura's neck, rendering her absolutely helpless.

A boy escorted by five guards witnessed the entire scene, from the pink-haired girl escaping her fabric bonds to the woman pinning her to the floor. Gaara was impressed, she had taken down three guards, proceeded to vomit everywhere, and only said one word, 'blood.' Interesting.

"Ahh, and here is my second new patient!" The blonde said, turning toward him. "Tsunade!" she extended a hand toward him.

Kikashi stepped in front of her. "Nobody touches Gaara and escapes alive."

Tsunade laughed. "You know the pink one? Well, she is rarely touched by people she doesn't know, and half the time, they die. But I am quick with the syringe, and in less than two seconds could have this stuck in your neck." Tsunade held up a gigantic syringe with enough sedative to kill an elephant. "Behave!"

And with that, Ton-ton indicated Gaara to walk with him to a room. They arrived at the room and Ton-ton went in first, checking the place out. It had a single bed, a toilet, a sink, a plastic mirror, and a round table.

The room next to Gaara's let out a scream. It was female, and it sounded like she was fighting for her life. Gaara side-stepped the guard's lunges and peered through the window in the door.

Sakura was screaming her head off; apparently the drugs had worn off already. One guard was sitting on top of her; the other was wrestling with limbs. Only Gaara could see the needle Sakura wielded as her weapon.

Sakura looked up at the door and froze, giving the guards time to tie her up and haul her to her feet. Sakura's eyes never left the door window, where a second ago she had seen the most amazing pair of jade-eyes. They were so unlike Shizune's black orbs, or Tsunade's amber eyes. They were new eyes, different eyes, and they amazed Sakura.

Gaara instantly pulled back as soon as emerald eyes met his. Those eyes spoke of unmentionable horrors, and they frightened Gaara. Never had he been frightened, it was a new experience, but all of his reading told Gaara that the gut-wrenching feeling in his stomach was fear. Why did this girl scare him?

Sakura tossed and turned all night, unable to find comfort in these foreign rooms. In her old room, Sakura had drawn things on the wall with blood, whether it be blood from the few she had killed, or her own, but these white walls were bare.

Of course, Sakura had never been a heavy sleeper, but she could usually nap while being fully aware of her surroundings. Inside her, Sakura felt her inner stir.

_I want more blood! Give me the blood!_

Sakura cringed, bringing her legs up to hug them to her chest. If inner didn't get her blood, Sakura would be forced to draw her own blood.

"Go away, please go away. I don't want death!"

_That is right, you want 'peace', as if there is such a thing._

"Peace is real!" Sakura groaned in a whisper.

_What do you think of the Jade-eyes boy?_

"I don't know!" Sakura whispered, silently pleading for the inner voice to go away.

_Of course you don't know, you were too busy looking at his eyes. He was cute, extremely cute, much cuter than anybody we have ever known._

"No he wasn't!" Sakura argued. The last thing Sakura needed was to have inner feelings for somebody.

_I like him_!

And with that, Inner Sakura fell silent. Sakura let out a sigh of relief and got out of bed. Shizune had thought Sakura was going to pack away books in the bag, but she was only partly correct. Sakura opened a book and looked at the gaping hole she had torn in the pages, allowing three vials of blood to sit comfortably, waiting for this moment.

It was time to make this room Sakura's. She uncapped a vial, found the small brush, and began to draw, using blood as ink. Blood sickened her, and yet she loved it. Sakura wanted to heal blood, to make it return to the body, and yet she wanted to suck everybody dry of it.

Sakura drew an eye, a perfect representation of the Jade Eye she had seen earlier that day. She even drew the slightest emotion that had been shown in the eye; even though she couldn't tell which emotions the boy was showing.

Next Morning:

Shizune whistled as she walked into Sakura's new room. She didn't stop, even though she found Sakura passed out on the floor, her hands covered in blood. What did the girl draw this time?

Shizune turned to the wall and took a step back in surprise. A two foot eye starred at Shizune, it almost looked real, if everything about it hadn't been the color of blood. Shizune couldn't help but sigh, where had the girl seen such an eye?

Shizune kneeled down to Sakura and injected a shot of something to wake up the girl. Sakura had the weirdest sleep problem. Once she fell asleep, Sakura couldn't wake up on her own.

Sakura mumbled something about blood before her eyes shot open. She glared at Shizune as she scrambled away from the women. Shizune was too close for comfort. "What?"

"You fell asleep, and Tsunade has an important meeting with you." Shizune said cheerfully, "By the way, where did you get the blood?"

Shizune asked this question every time Sakura drew something on the wall, but she always received the same answer. "None of your business." One time, Shizune had argued that it was her business, but then Sakura had gotten into the argument and countered with some weird explanations. For a girl who had spent her life in a mental-hospital, she was extremely smart.

"Let's go, Sakura, the meeting with Tsunade."

"I'm not going!"

"Do you want me to drug you?"

"Go ahead and try it!" Sakura took a step back away from Shizune.

This argument always ended the same way. "Please, Sakura, just this one meeting. If you can scare her away, you don't have to go back."

_Yeah, _Sakura_, let's scare off this insane woman who thinks she can cure us! I want to spill her blood for what she did yesterday!_

Sakura shook her head, trying to clear the voice, even if it never helped. Sakura couldn't go against her inner. "Fine." She muttered, trailing Shizune as she left the room.

Gaara was already in the room when Sakura arrived. He watched her sit down in a chair, fidgeting with anxiety, and glare at the woman leaning against a wall. Gaara was sitting on the window ledge, letting nothing of him show. Ton-ton and Shizune were standing by the now closed door.

"Well, welcome to Konoha, I am Tsunade!" Tsunade smiled. "I have brought you to this room to clarify a few things. One: you will do everything I want of you, whether you want to or not."

"What makes you think I will comply with your wishes?" Sakura asked in disgust. Inner was starting to get ticked.

"Hn!" Gaara agreed, looking out the window.

"If you don't, there will be serious punishment."

Sakura eyes Tsunade. "Like what?"

"Room confinement, starving-rations, _drugs_!"

The last word got to Sakura and Gaara both. Room confinement was a blessing for the both of them; it meant they didn't have to be near people; starving rations were nothing special either, it just meant a little less food, which didn't matter if you never left your small room. But drugs, those were something else.

**Not the drugs, anything but the drugs. Drugs make me feel funny!**

'Zip it!' Gaara snapped at Shukaku. Yes, his egotistical, stupid-brained excuse for an inner personality was called Shukaku.

Sakura shivered.

Tsunade nodded happily. "Good, now two: we shall have meetings every day. Every other day we will all meet together. The opposite days, I will meet with the two of you separately."

Sakura turned her head ever so slightly to look at the red-head, the one with black lines around his head. It looked like eye-liner, to be honest, but patients weren't allowed make-up. She had to see him every other day?

"Three: every day you will spend an hour in the recreation room. I don't care what you do, but you must accompany each other, and you may speak to no one but each other."

"Is this the buddy-system I keep hearing of?" Sakura asked sarcastically. "What the kunai are you planning?"

Tsunade just looked at Sakura. "Yes, exactly, the buddy-system. This way, I can ensure you won't be a danger to the other patients."

"Why not keep us in our rooms?" Gaara asked.

"Because that just defeats the entire purpose of everything." Tsunade smirked, happy at the response she was getting from the two, just how she had predicted. "Now, number four: Ton-ton, you are fired!"

Ton-ton's jaw literally dangled from his mouth. Shizune looked over at him in surprise, and then at Tsunade. Ton-ton gained speaking capabilities in a second.

"What? How can you do this! I have been with this brat since the beginning!"

"Exactly!" Tsunade said, interrupting whatever Ton-ton was going to say next. "You haven't made an inch of progress with him!"

"What about her?" Ton-ton jerked a thumb in Shizune's direction.

"She has made plenty of progress with Sakura." Tsunade stated, "Now I will introduce you all to your replacement. Kikashi?"

The door opened and in stepped a man with gray spiky hair, a mask covering his face, and his ninja-head-protector pulled low over left eye. He grinned, you could tell by the way his one visible eye sparkled, and nodded to everyone before pulling out a little orange book and leaning against the wall to read it.

Ton-ton wasn't impressed. "I will not be replaced!"

"You can't argue." Tsunade replied, "I now own Gaara, and therefore it is up to me to decide who comes near him."

Tsunade performed a series of seals in the blink of an eye, Sakura could barely keep up, and Ton-ton disappeared in a poof of smoke. As the smoke cleared, everybody made out a tiny four-legged animal with a big butt.

"Is that Ton-ton?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade's smirk was back. "Yep, he will stay like that until I am sure he won't attempt to hurt Gaara."

"Nobody can hurt me." Gaara said, not bothering to look at what the commotion was about.

Tsunade clapped her hands together, obviously excited about something. Sakura couldn't figure out what it was, and Gaara didn't seem to care. "So, you two will be spending a lot of time with each other. Get to know each other, because something big is happening in two weeks." And with that, Tsunade left the room, tugging Ton-ton with her. As Ton-ton passed, Sakura noticed something. The pig was a girl.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura and Gaara were led back to their rooms by Shizune and Kikashi. They were both in for a surprise when they found their rooms were right next to each other.

"Why are we next to each other?" Sakura asked angrily. Gaara was curious, but he would never admit it to anybody. "It's as if Tsunade is forcing us together!"

Kikashi just shrugged and opened Gaara's door, gesturing him inside. Sakura didn't wait for Shizune, but went into her room and slammed the door shut. Gaara followed Kikashi into his room.

Kikashi glanced around as Gaara sat down on his bed. Sand covered the walls, like a layer of paint would, so thin and subtle. "How do you get the sand to stick?"

Gaara didn't answer.

"Well, since I get to watch over you for who knows how long, or until I am back on ninja duty, I guess we should get to know each other. Kikashi, I am known as the copy-ninja, and I love this book!" Kikashi held up his little orange book.

Gaara 'hn'ed and laid back on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Kikashi took that as a 'get out of my room' even though it was actually meant to be a 'I don't care, just shut up'.

"Well, before I leave, Tsunade told me to give you this." Kikashi set down a folded piece of paper on the floor and left the room, talking to the guard in a friendly chatting manner.

When he was sure nobody was watching, Gaara picked up paper and glanced it over. It was a schedule, planning out every part of his day. Morning, Gaara ate breakfast with Sakura; late morning, Gaara had meetings with Tsunade; noon, lunch with Sakura; afternoon, recreation time with Sakura; evening, dinner with Sakura; night, sleeping.

Gaara decided he never wanted to see the name Sakura written down anywhere, ever again. This girl was going to be with Gaara for almost every part of the day, whether he liked it or not, and there wasn't anything Gaara could do about it. He felt his fist clench into a tight ball. Gaara was always in control of situations, but this time, he wasn't. What was this woman trying to do?

**Who does that woman think she is? Trying to control us like that! We won't leave this room for the rest of the day!**

'We aren't supposed to leave the room today.' Gaara pointed out.

**Who asked you? At least it could be worse, we are stuck hanging around with the hottest thing anybody has ever seen.**

Gaara gagged. What had Shukaku just said? Sakura Haruno was hot? Gaara thought about that for a moment. It wasn't as if he could judge, could he? Gaara had never set foot out of hospitals and could only find out what was considered 'hot' through books and whatever magazines people left lying around.

Sakura's hair was pretty. Cherry-blossom pink, straight, cut to her shoulders, and it looked healthy. According to magazines, Haruno's body was hot too. She had curves in every right place, and her chest was the perfect size for her body. Or at least, he thought it was, but he had never known 'hot,' and therefore he could not know.

What was Gaara going to do?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_**And that ends the chapter! Ton-ton has been turned into a **_female_** Pig, Kikashi is taking care of patients in a mental hospital, we know absolutely nothing about Shizune, and Tsunade is planning something big in two weeks. Who knows what it could be? Ok, I know what it is, but that is beside the point. Let's just say, the rest of Team 7 and its replacement team member will come into the picture, shall we? **_

_**Next Time: Gaara and Sakura are forced to spend an entire day together, and unexpected things happen, forcing demons to react. Will the two even survive the day? What about the rest of the mental loony patients? Find out in the next chapter of **_Love and Peace equals Insanity.


	3. ONE Really Long Day

_**After ignoring Ran-my idea bunny-'s most recent attempts to divert my attention, she has finally decided one how to continue this story. This means that I will probably be up until like one in the morning writing! Yay me! So, kick back, enjoy, and don't you dare click on a link away from this story!**_

_**Hope you are ready for this!**_

Chapter Three: _One_ Really Long Day

Sakura starred at her wall from her bed, looking at her latest blood-drawing. It was another eye, but this time not Gaara's. It was Kakashi's eye. Sakura had seen him peering into her room one day, and he had both eyes exposed. His eyes were two very different things. (_**I went searching for a Kakashi eye picture on google image, and the only thing I could find was either black eyes, or a bluish eye lighter in shade than Naruto's. I am going with the latter.)**_One was blue and usually showed some form of happiness, whether it be pride, enjoyment, or mirth. The other one, however, was different, much different.

Sakura's painting had it on mark. Red pupils with something that looked like a black shuriken, almost. This eye showed something much different from the other eye, as if they didn't even belong to the same face. The second eye was filled with sadness and hardship, along with knowledge and power. So much in one little painting.

A knock on the door pulled Sakura from her reverie. Shizune walked in carrying three books and a folder, her eyes glaring at Sakura.

"Do you know how much trouble you have put me in, young lady?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "Since when do I care?"

"Don't go giving me that attitude! You know what you did?"

Just to provoke Shizune, Sakura asked "What did I do?"

"You have refused to leave your room for an entire week! You haven't met with Shizune, you haven't eaten anything, and you haven't seen Gaara!"

Sakura whirled around to face Shizune. "I don't want to see her or _him_."

Shizune looked taken aback. Sakura had italicized Gaara's name. "Well, today, you don't have a choice. You are going to march out of this room and walk with Kakashi, Gaara, and I to breakfast, eat breakfast, and then meet with Tsunade. After that, you will eat lunch, go to the recreation room, eat dinner, and return to your room. I don't want argument!"

_Tell her off, Sakura, tell her off! Tell her off now! We will _not_ do what this woman wants!_

Sakura was silent for a minute, debating. Either listen to Shizune, who could make her life miserable, or listen to her inner, who could cause Sakura so much pain. Shizune won.

"Fine!"

Shizune was slightly taken aback. Usually she had to argue with Sakura for a few minutes longer, sometimes exchanging reasons of why Sakura should or should not go out of the room.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Gaara groaned as Kakashi walked into the room. He hadn't seen the ninja all week, and his one eye showed great displeasure. Kakashi leaned up against the wall and began to read his orange book, not even bothering to give Gaara a glance.

**We aren't going to take that! Kick his butt!**

'Cut it out, Shukaku.' Gaara pleaded. "What do you want?" Gaara asked Kakashi aloud.

"Who said I wanted anything?"

Gaara inwardly cursed. This man was going to be a lot harder to push around than Ton-ton, and a lot trickier to deal with. Sure, Ton-ton really got on you if you commented about his weight, but Kakashi was the fittest ninja Gaara had ever seen.

"You know you haven't eaten in a week, right?" Kakashi asked, not lifting his eyes from his book.

"Hn."

"And that you have disobeyed almost every one of Tsunade's orders."

"Hn,"

"Well that isn't going to fly for any longer." Kakashi performed his seals so fast that Gaara didn't even see it coming, let alone have time to prepare. The Jetsu hit him, rendering his body useless. This was much worse than drugs; drugs made Gaara's head all groggy, barely letting the fact that he was even drugged register, in this state, Gaara knew that he wasn't in control, and he knew it well.

"Either I keep you exactly like this, or you come down and eat some breakfast."

**Get us free get us free get us free!** Shukaku shouted, giving Gaara and splitting headache.

"Hn!" Gaara grunted, wincing while his head slowly split in two.

Kakashi released the jetsu and turned toward the door. Gaara's head stopped hurting. He got up from his bed and followed the silver-head ninja out the door.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

They starred at each other, jade eyes meeting matching emerald ones; this was a match of wills, each testing the other. One table away, Kakashi and Shizune watched with interest, completely forgetting about the oatmeal on their trays. They had been at it for twenty-minutes, neither giving in. The most amazing thing out of it all was the fact that neither of them had moved a muscle, just sat there, ignoring their trays of food.

Sakura looked into those eyes, the ones that played a million different emotions before her, and yet gave nothing away. The only reason Sakura had lasted as long as she had was because she found his eyes the most interesting things in the world. It was the weirdest thing, but Sakura just couldn't take her eyes off of his; she couldn't care less about the contest now.

Across from her, Gaara was having extremely different thoughts. This girl had been starring at him with the same expression on her face, as if challenging him. He had long since wanted to challenge her, so it wasn't as if he started something he didn't want to do. But, after Sakura not backing down at all, Gaara was starting to get a little peeved. How could she sit there and glare at him, and not back down? Nobody had ever defied Gaara's glare, ever! He needed to teach this girl who was boss.

Simultaneously, hands were placed on each of the fifteen year-olds shoulders, forcing them to face their 'sensei's' for lack of a better word.

"We need to be going!" Shizune said in false cheerfulness. Sakura saw right through the act.

Gaara and Sakura were steered out of the cafeteria, forced to leave their oatmeal behind, and made to go to the same room they had all occupied only a week before. Shizune and Kakashi pushed the two in the room and closed the door behind, much preferring to wait outside.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tsunade looked at the two of them; they could both see she was ticked. Gaara walked over to the window and perched on the ledge, Sakura sat down in a corner of the room, pretending she was invisible.

Tsunade summoned a file out of nowhere (figuratively) and opened it up. "You wouldn't believe how much the two of you have in common, you know."

"Hn."

Sakura forced her eyes to the floor. She didn't want to look at Gaara or Tsunade.

"You were both checked into the hospitals at young ages, Sakura at age five and Gaara at age six, we assume that you have both killed multiple people. Sakura has killed several guards and two psychiatrists, along with other 'people'. Gaara killed people, a couple guards, one med-nin, and five psychiatrists. Of course, in every time it has happened, the person you killed provoked that 'insanity' bride of yours to collapse. Not really your fault, in the end."

Gaara just 'hn'ed again, Sakura kept her eyes on the floor.

"You are both the same age, you have insomnia, a lust for blood, can't accept anybody touching you unless it will help you, and prefer to stay in your rooms, never talking to people that you aren't comfortable with.

Tsunade went on when neither of them spoke. "In fact, the only difference you two have is your personality, and the way you deal with your condition."

"What condition would that be?" Sakura snapped, looking up. "What is wrong with you people? You treat us as if we are insane, when we aren't! This is just who we are, and if you people can't deal with it, take our lives."

_You tell them, Sakura._

**The girl has a point.**

_**Show that woman who is boss!**_

"You are both vessels for demons." Tsunade stated simply, as if it was just some stupid rumor flying around and Tsunade didn't care if it was passed around or not.

But the statement caused all attention to be on Tsunade. "Demons?"

"What, never heard of them?" Tsunade asked casually from behind a folder. She peered over the top, pretending to be disinterested, which made the two kids before her extremely mad.

"According to you, we have been in mental hospitals our entire lives. What do you think?" Sakura snapped, her hair on frizz from fuming.

"Demons, extremely untamed beings. We have this case in Konoha, a boy with the demon Kyuubi inside of him. The demon was placed inside the boy with great precision and skill, so he has none of the problems that you two have."

Sakura leaned back against the wall, digesting everything she had just heard. A demon container? So Sakura wasn't insane? But then why was she insane when this other kid wasn't?

Tsunade predicted the unasked question and launched into explanation, a smirk starting to spread across her face, hidden by the file of course. "Kyuubi was sealed into the boy using a special seal that could only be placed by an expert, but he died. You two had your demons sealed within you, but something went extremely wrong in both cases. Instead of sealing the demon inside you, the demon was mixed with you."

_What does this woman think she is talking about? I am not mixed with you._

Sakura's eyes widened, realization hitting her hard. The voice, the voice in her head, it was a demon?

_I'm not just a demon, missy, I am _a_ demon, a powerful demon, one that can easily be your worst nightmare._

'You are already my worst nightmare!' Sakura said back, her inner voice shaking.

"How do we get rid of them?" Gaara asked, his focus back on the window.

"You don't." Tsunade said matter-of-factly. "If we release the demons, they will only wreck havoc on the world. In fact, it is only luck that they haven't torn your body to shreds and released themselves. Once you two die, the demons will need to be contained again. But, first, we have to teach you how to control the demon."

Sakura choked. Was this woman insane? "You can't teach us how to control the demons; I manage pretty well on my own, thanks!"

"Yes, you kill innocent people, that is how you manage."

"It's called survival!"

"NO!" Tsunade shouted, her voice deep and commanding. Shukaku and Inner Sakura both shied away. "You listen and you listen well! You two aren't handling your demons, and at any moment they choose they can tear you to shreds, pull you apart from the inside out, and there would be nothing you could do about it. You want to survive; then do what I say.

"Daily, I will hold sessions with you; daily, you will learn to control them; and daily, you will take steps to healing the part of you that has been dead."

"Do we get to know what demons possess us?" Gaara asked.

"You do." Tsunade replied, looking at him. "You have the demon Shukaku placed inside of you. The demon is the reason you have a small amount of control over sand."

Gaara looked over at her. How had she known he could manipulate sand? Sure, if somebody attacked Gaara, the sand stopped them, but everybody who had witnessed the sand was dead.

"As for Sakura, I have no idea which demon she possesses, or what special form of Jutsu you can perform." Tsunade stood up and walked to the door. "That is all for the day. Now, you two will eat lunch, and then spend time in the recreation room. Remember, you can only talk to each other while in the recreation room."

And she left, leaving Gaara at the window and Sakura in the corner. Kakashi and Shizune walked in, took a glance at their patients, and beckoned. Neither teenager wanted to follow, neither wanted to leave this stupid room that had become a beacon for hate, but follow they did.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As soon as they had walked into the room, people had starred; they had also made sure to stay at least five meters away from the pair. Kakashi and Shizune didn't go into the recreation room, preferring to stay outside and watch the security cameras.

The two had immediately walked to the couch area, and everybody who had been sitting and watching/playing a game of chess instantly left, leaving the two to sit on one of the couches, as far away from the other as possible.

Gaara loved silence, he always longed for silence, but this silence wasn't as pleasing. While Gaara sat like a statue, Sakura fidgeted; bouncing her leg, twittering her fingers, breathing rapidly, and shaking her head. She was a funny sight to look at. But why didn't Gaara like this silence? Sakura was even more silent than the people in the room.

It scared him, Gaara decided. This wasn't the terrified-of-the-girl-and-wants-to-get-the-hell-away-from-her-as-soon-as-possible kind of fear, where Gaara was horror stricken at the sight of Sakura. No, this was jumbly confused scared, because Gaara couldn't predict anything about Sakura.

Usually after spending only moments with a person, Gaara could easily predict what they were going to do. Ton-ton liked to yell at Gaara, but would never touch him, and often slammed doors. Gaara knew exactly how to push his buttons. Kakashi: a ninja who liked to read his dirty-books. Liked to give long lengthy explanations, will use force if has to. Tsunade: likes Sake, enjoys yelling, and likes being in control, also has bad luck.

But this girl, she did things Gaara wasn't expecting. He had listened to her from his room, Sakura would be crying, and then suddenly throws something against the wall, and then sleep. She was such a bundle of different emotions it was all so hard to keep track of. Like this moment, she was fidgety, but in the room earlier she had been calm with a shy look, and later in the room had shouted at Tsunade, peeved as hell.

Gaara looked at her hands, and then her wrists. He could see needle insertion points and cuts all over them; apparently she drew her own blood. But a week ago, in the hospital lobby, she had been scared of blood, had puked at the sight. Why did this girl lust for blood when she didn't like it?

Sakura was too confusing.

But that didn't stop her from fidgeting on the opposite side of the couch, attempting to make her mouth work. She hated silence, hated silence! Even if the silence were comfortable and pleasant, Sakura hated silence unless she was alone. Sitting here only feet away from Gaara, Sakura was having the worst moments of her life.

_He is sooo perfect! I want him, all of him!_

Sakura clutched her head. Inner Sakura had been saying that for the past ten minutes, and Sakura wanted nothing to do with it. 'He is not perfect! He is a freaky psychopath who would kill us in a blink.'

_It takes more than looks to kill us._

Sakura stood up, fury radiating from her body. "Talk or I will talk for you!" She said, giving him an ultimatum.

"You talk." He replied, blank as stone.

"Fine!" Sakura sat back down and began to ramble about useless things. She talked about mathematics, what long complicated words meant, how to find the velocity of an object going at different speeds, musical notes, the terms for different sword-dances, and more. Gaara listened, not inventively, but he listened. Finally, it was evening, and Shizune and Kakashi came in to fetch their patients.

Gaara and Sakura stood up and exited the room, allowing everyone in it to relax. They walked in front of Kakashi and Shizune to the cafeteria, were served some weird looking meat with a red sauce, and sat down in a corner table. Kakashi and Shizune, carrying their meatloaf, sat down a few tables away.

"That was an interesting afternoon." Kakashi stated, pulling out his Icha Icah Paradise. "What was she going on about?"

"Sakura reads everything, and learns everything. Once she has read it, she doesn't forget it. She also hates silence." Shizune took a bite and continued. "Every time she was with me, she would drone on about stuff, and if I got her going she would begin to talk about stuff she likes. Sakura knew that she couldn't help talking when around people, and quickly learned to tell me to go away when she truly didn't want to talk. She is private, but can't stand silence."

Kakashi nodded and glanced at the other table.

Gaara was looking at the meat-loaf with a disgusted look on his face. Sakura had pushed the tray away and was looking at a random spot on the wall. The meat-loaf sauce made Sakura thing blood, which only made her stomach churn. Inner Sakura was beginning to demand blood.

"So what can you do?" Gaara asked.

"Huh?" Sakura asked, focusing on him.

"Tsunade said that I can control sand, what about you?"

Sakura turned her head to look at a painting on the wall. "Blood." When Gaara didn't say anything, Sakura decided to go on. The silence would get bad eventually. "After I kill somebody, I can will their blood to do anything I want. I usually have it hide until I can collect it, and then it goes into a vial and waits for me to use it."

"You can make blood do anything?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, ever since I was little. I remember being in this house, the walls were painted a dark blue, like the night sky, and the ground was covered in blood. Five bodies, I think, were lying in different places in front of me. I was scared, and unsure, and the blood was responding to my emotions.

"It rippled and waved, and slithered along the floor until it reached me, leaving behind a trail. It wanted to comfort me, all of it, even the blood still in the bodies. Then, people stormed into the house, and the blood splattered across the room. I ducked behind some crates. Ever since then, blood calls to me, and I can make it do whatever I want. I can even use it as a weapon."

By then, Shizune and Kakashi had finished eating. Gaara and Sakura walked back to their rooms together, nodded to the guards, and entered their separate rooms. While passing her guard, Sakura had the sudden desire to slit open his neck, but caught herself before she could go for one of the many needles hidden underneath her skin.

Shizune and Kakashi nodded to each other before exiting the hospital.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara was curious, just curious, or that is what he told himself while creating his third eye. It formed, and Gaara willed it up to the vent in the ceiling. Using the sand to pry off the lid, Gaara sent forth the eye, letting it peer through the vent into Sakura's room.

She was lying on her bed, curled up into a very tight ball, while single tears fell down her face. Sakura looked hurt. Then, Sakura's eyes popped open, revealing bright purple eyes of the most brilliant color. The pupils were different though, they had a shape floating inside of them, like Kakashi's Sharingan eye.

She uncurled herself and grabbed a book lying on the floor, and a brush hidden somewhere. She opened the book, grabbed a vile, and tore off the stopper, and dipped her brush into the vile.

Sakura began to paint, one line there, a stroke there, fill in there, until there was a perfect representation of an eye, his eye. But Gaara had never seen his eye look like that before, it was filled with inner turmoil and surging emotions. Was this how Sakura saw him?

Sakura inched over and began to draw a kenji, the kenji for 'peace'. Then, right next to it, she placed the kenji for 'love'. Why would Sakura draw the kenjis for peace and love? She probably got the love one from the matching one on Gaara's forehead, but peace?

Gaara's third eye dissolved as soon as Sakura looked up at the vent, turning into a pile of sand that soon blew out of the vent. Gaara cursed! What had happened? Why had his eye dissolved, he hadn't told it to. What was going on?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura finished the peace kenji, debating. Gaara and she were going to be spending a lot of time together, and Sakura didn't understand him at all. Why would he carve the love kenji into his forehead like that? Was it the same reason as Sakura had carved peace into her chest?

Sakura thought back to that night, the night she had stabbed the nice man who had fed her in his brightly covered full of lights apartment. She had stabbed him with a very fine scalpel he had left lying around, and afterwards, Sakura had been so disgusted she have carved the kenji into her chest. She had done it because Sakura wanted one thing and one thing only, peace.

So then, what was Gaara's story? If he did do it for the same reasons as Sakura, then it pointed to Gaara wanting love. Who wants love? People kill people, spill their blood, people who love each other hurt each other, it is a matter of fact. What in his past made Gaara want love?

_Something is watching us!_ Inner Sakura screeched.

Sakura turned to the vent on the opposite ceiling. After a few seconds of looking, sand blew from the vent, falling to the ground like snow. Gaara?

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_**Ok, so I have absolutely no idea what demon should possess Sakura. Anybody able to suggest anything for me? What are the other demons out there? I only know of Shukaku and Kyuubi, **_

_**Ok, I was getting really unhappy with this chapter until the very end, where Sakura was pointing out the stories of the kenji. I have finally decided on a plot that will help me move this baby forward! Go me, yeah yeah, go me!**_

_**Reviews fuel my passion for writing, the more reviews I get the faster I will produce the next chapter, I can guarantee that. **_


	4. Blood is Life

_**Booyah, I am so totally lucky! I found this site that lists all of the Naruto demons, even though only two of them have been shown. Shukaku is the one-tailed demon, and Kyuubi is the nine-tailed demon, and there are also 2, 3…7, and 8 tailed demons. So, I have finally decided on Sakura's demon. But, why spoil all my fun while I can keep you guessing, but eventually Tsunade will figure out which demon, probably in chapter 6 or seven. Thanks for everybody who ended up replying; telling me a bunch of information on the Naruto Demons, I really appreciate the help. Kisses to you all!**_

_**If anybody can figure out what demon I chose, I will slip them into the story for a scene, or more!**_

_**Enjoy!**_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tsunade glanced at her patients sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Progress was being made with these two, but not quite enough. For the past week, Tsunade had been teaching them to meditate, so as to create a mental barrier between the demons, and yet both had tried several times to kill their guards.

Sakura let out a soft moan as her muscles began to protest her sitting position. Beside her, Gaara crinkled his nose. Yes, these two had a lot of work.

Tsunade took a look up at the clock. One hour left before they had lunch. She looked back over at Sakura. Tsunade began to analyze Sakura, just as she had done everyday that week. Tsunade couldn't find a single demon that matched Sakura's personality. The lust for blood, the likeness of darkness, the changes in personalities, it wasn't quite fitting together yet.

Gaara, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. At least Tsunade knew what kind of demon she was dealing with, and could take counter measures. Shukaku was a playful personality, and killed for the fun of it. Although Shukaku was a very strong demon, Tsunade believed that Gaara could handle him.

"That will be all for today." Tsunade told them, standing up and walking out the door. She paused before closing it. "Tomorrow, something extremely important is going to happen."

Sakura and Gaara spared Tsunade a glance each before getting up from their positions. As was tradition, if tradition could be established in a week (and it could), Sakura began to moan and complain about the meditating, of how she didn't feel anything working, etc, while Gaara 'hn'ed while they made their way to lunch.

They sat in their usual corner with their bowls of clam-chowder and two packs of crackers. Sakura stirred hers around and attempted not to look at it, she hated soup. Gaara just watched her stir it as Sakura started naming the different kinds of clam-species.

When she had gotten half-way through the list, Gaara voiced a question. "Why do you like blood so much?"

Sakura stopped mid-sentence and looked at him, her eyes partly clouded. "Why?" she asked softly.

"Because I don't want to hear about clams." Gaara said, being sarcastic.

Sakura eyed him, slightly surprised. In the past week, Gaara seemed to gain a more and more sarcastic side to him. Whenever he spoke, it was either a simple question, or he voiced it as a simple question, or some sarcastic comment, usually on how much Sakura talked.

"_I_ don't like blood." Sakura said, brushing back a stray piece of pink-hair.

"Then why do you kill for blood?"

"Why do you kill?" Sakura snapped, going on the offensive.

Gaara sighed. If he didn't get her to answer his questions as soon as he voiced them, she went on the defensive. "Shukaku enjoys killing, it is fun to him."

"Do you think it is fun?"

"I will only answer if you will answer my question." Sakura nodded in agreement. "Fine, I share Shukaku's feelings sometimes."

"So you do like it?"

Gaara nodded hesitantly. "Sometimes, yes."

Sakura leaned back in her chair. "She likes blood, you see, but preferably other people's blood, although she will take mine in punishment. She says, blood is life, the spirit and energy that life comes from, and therefore I must have it. She loves blood, that simple."

"Your feelings?"

Sakura looked down, averting her eyes. "I hate blood, hate it with a vengeance. When it touches me, or I smell its metallic scent, I immediately want to vomit, but I don't always."

"That explains why you vomited when the blood touched your hair, that first day."

"You were there for that?" Sakura asked.

Gaara nodded, scooping up the very last of his soup. He pulled Sakura's bowl over to him and began to eat it. "You should at least eat the crackers." Gaara suggested. "Vessels can't fight demons on an empty stomach."

Sakura's jaw literally dropped to the table as she saw Gaara attempt a smile. The corners of his mouth curved upward, and if Sakura hadn't known what Gaara's smirk looked like, she would have guessed that was what it was. It was weird, extremely weird, and yet kind of nice.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura was reciting words from a dictionary she had memorized, she went through the words for about an hour everyday before moving onto another subject, and she was going through the Ls. She was sitting on the floor, her knees hugged to her body as she leaned against the couch, while Gaara sat in a fixed sitting position on the other end of the couch.

Gaara was starting to get used to Sakura's love of talking, or should he say hate of silence? He didn't understand her discomfort with silence around other people, Gaara quite enjoyed silence around other people, especially when there was no tension, but Sakura insisted on talking.

The tension between them had considerably lessoned between them the past few days, giving away to acceptance of the other. They both knew that they were stuck together, so they might as well not be bothered by it. So, they settled into routine, taking to basically ignoring each other, except for when one decided to voice a curious question, which didn't happen often.

It was kind of nice to listen to Sakura talk, Gaara suddenly decided. She had a beautiful voice, so full of passion and innocence, longing and desire, sadness and happiness, and a melody and rhythm unmatched by anybody. Yes, it really was nice to listen to her. Gaara felt quite lucky, actually, that he was the one on the receiving end of Sakura's long talks.

"Love:" The word instantly brought Gaara back down to earth. "a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection for a child, parent, or friend; sexual passion or desire; a person toward whom love is felt; a beloved person or sweetheart."

Gaara felt his heart rate speed up, and he didn't quite understand why. He had never heard exactly what love meant, only that it cured the heart, that it would cure the tightness and strain on Gaara's own chest.

Sakura began to recite the synonyms for the word. "Love, affection, devotion, all mean a deep and enduring emotional reg-"

Gaara instantly noticed when Sakura stopped talking. He sat up and looked down at her, and that was when he smelled it. Metallic, rusty, delicious, the smell of blood. Shukaku began to go crazy, wanting in on the fun. Gaara closed his eyes tightly, trying to block out the smell.

Sakura, however, was fighting an inner battle with herself.

_Blood! I want the blood! I want life, I want the life, take the persons life, NOW!_

Sakura winced, 'No, I can't, I won't let you.'

_I will take your blood._ Inner Sakura threatened.

'No, anything but my own blood.' A tear leaked from each of Sakura's eyes.

_Take the blood, and then spill more! I want more! I want to touch the spirit of life, I want to drink it, I want to feel it, hear it, taste it, smell it, and see it!_

'I won't let you!'

_I will get my blood, one way or another._

Sakura lunged out for anything to grab, and it ended up being Gaara's leg. She clutched it for dear life, holding it close to her, wrapped in her arms, and placed her forehead on the knee. Gaara's mind was instantly focused on Sakura, instead of Shukaku, placing Shukaku in the very back of Gaara's mind, away from conscience.

Gaara didn't know what to do, nobody had ever touched Gaara, let alone hold onto his leg. Time seemed to slow as Gaara tried to work things out. Sakura gripped Gaara's leg tighter, making it begin to go numb, as tears slipped down her cheeks and onto his pants. Why had she grabbed him?

A hand touched Sakura's shoulder, Gaara's head snapped up to see Shizune, and then he noticed that the only people in the room were Shizune and Kakashi. As soon as Shizune touched Sakura, her entire body went rigid. She raised her head, revealing bright and yet dark purple eyes, (_**I am in the process of drawing Sakura's Demon Eyes, so stay tuned for the link/**_).

Sakura let out a savage growl and lunged for Shizune, a needle in her hand. The needle was about to slice Shizune in the throat when Gaara yanked on Sakura's arm. Sakura reeled around and was pushed to the floor.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura felt her eyes return to normal as she gained full control of her body. Whenever her inner managed to take control, Sakura usually placed herself in the darkest recesses of her mind, waiting for Inner to kill somebody. If Sakura was alone when Inner took control, she had partial control. Like, when Sakura used the blood as paint, Inner was happy with the blood, Sakura chose what to do with it.

The last thing Sakura remembered was gripping something covered in fabric, and it was warm, with muscles. She had held onto it, afraid to let go, snuggling her face into it. Then, Sakura had been touched by something, and then pushed aside by inner.

Sakura felt her eyes return to normal, the blurry vision becoming sharp and clear again. She blinked a few times, feeling around her body. She was pinned against the floor, that was all Sakura knew at the moment, and something radiating a lot of heat was on top of her. Warm hands held Sakura's wrists to the floor, legs kept Sakura's from flailing around, and somebody was straddling her waist, stopping her from moving around.

Sakura finally gained full sight, and then held her breath. Was she hallucinating, or was that Gaara on top of her?

Sakura tried to speak, but nothing would come out, only wordless words. What in Tsunade's name was going on?

"Do you have control again?" Gaara asked in an unconcerned voice.

Sakura nodded, unable to say the word 'yes'.

Gaara released her arms and moved his legs so she could move them, and then proceeded to slowly get off Sakura's waist. When he was erect and standing, Gaara dusted off his clothes in a casual manner, and then held out his hand for Sakura to take. What the heck, Sakura had touched him in ways other people had never before, what could a hand to help her up do?

Sakura looked at the hand as if it were the devils trident. She rolled over and pushed herself up, struggling as her muscles tried to turn to cherry-blossom flavored Jelly. Sakura noticed Shizune and Kakashi release the breaths they had been holding.

"Where is everybody?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"When we noticed you both notice the blood, we began to filter people out of the room, out of harms way, and then went to see if you two were ok." Kakashi said, reading from his little orange book. "When Shizune touched your shoulder, you broke."

"Gaara pinned you to the floor before you could hurt me." Shizune stated, blushing.

Sakura looked at Gaara, about to say thanks, but found him kneeling down and picking something up from the floor. He turned to Sakura and held something out. It was a silver needle, the exact one Sakura kept lodged under a thin layer of skin.

Sakura took the needle and slid it into a new place; instead of her arm she pushed it into her leg.

They all walked back to Gaara and Sakura's rooms.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura sighed as she lay back onto her bed, falling into the mattress. Inner Sakura began to talk as soon as Sakura was comfortable.

_Did you see the way he pinned us to the floor? I wished he would have taken us then and there!_

'I don't! What is it with you?'

_You will become a seducer, this I promise you._

'What do you think you are talking about? I refuse to take part in this discussion!'

_His muscles, he has the perfect size, not too big, but not skimpy and little. And his body, so skinny, so sexy. His hair, that blood-red color, like dried up blood, and the vain on his neck, always pulsing, waiting for me to bite._ Inner Sakura continued to rave as Sakura tried to block her out.

Both were unaware of the similar argument going on in the other room.

**You straddled her, good fellow; you will turn out the way I want before we both know it.**

'I didn't do…whatever you say I did.'

**Couldn't you feel it in the air?** Shukaku asked, **The way you pinned her beneath you, just like an expert.**

'SHUT UP!'

**If you didn't do it for reasons previously mentioned, then why did you do it?** Shukaku had voiced the question to make Gaara admit that he liked Shukaku's way of thinking.

'I don't know why!' Gaara cursed, inwardly sighing. 'Something told me that I had to pin her, and that was all there was to it.'

**You should have taken her.** And with that, Shukaku fell silent.

Gaara commanded the sand in the room and poured it into his hand, creating his third eye. He wanted to know if Sakura was alright, even though he didn't quite know it.

He sent the eye through the vents, again, and peered through. Sakura was shuddering while in a relaxed position on her bed, lying on her back. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her hands trembling.

Demon eyes sprung forth as soon as eyelids pulled back, revealing the blood lust. Sakura reached for her book and pulled out a vial, but instead of using the blood within as paint, Sakura threw it at the wall. Glass went everywhere. Sakura searched the floor for a particularly bigger piece and picked it up.

Gaara winced as Sakura cut her arm, a long deep gash. Sakura had a pained expression on her face, but her eyes showed laughter and joy. She began to smear the blood around, and used a finger to paint smudges on the walls. Sakura licked her arm every once in a while, eyes relishing in the taste. She cut herself again, on the other arm, letting blood fall from her fingers.

'She is hurting herself!' Gaara mentally screamed at Shukaku.

**If you want to do something, then do something.**

Gaara couldn't watch anymore, but he also couldn't stay in his room knowing that Sakura might kill herself, when Gaara could stop it. Tsunade was always talking about saving, not taking, lived, and that was the excuse Gaara used to justify his next few moves.

Sand poured through his door, unlocking it. The two guards moved to cover the door, but Gaara only pinned them to the wall, his sand intensified with the surge of emotions flowing through Gaara's body. The guards tried to scream, but Gaara loosely muffled their yells with sand, making it so the guards could still breathe. Using the same trick as he did to open his door, Gaara shoved his way into Sakura's room.

Sakura had cut herself in several other places, a few times on her legs, twice more on each arm, and now she was holding the piece of glass to her neck. Two minds were fighting each other for control, one to save her life, the other for blood.

Gaara grabbed Sakura's arm and began to squeeze it, only letting go when she dropped the piece of glass. Gaara pulled Sakura down to the floor as he pinned her against his chest. His legs wrapped around Sakura's and his hands held her upper arms, while his chin came down onto Sakura's head.

Right before Sakura became motionless, she said one word. "Gaara!" it came out as the smallest of whispers, barely hearable, but a warm feeling spread through Gaara as she went slack in his arms.

Gaara closed his eyes and concentrated on the small bit of sand he had left. He willed it to go into Sakura's wounds, filling them. This would clean out the wounds and make it much harder for infections to do untold horrors on Sakura's body.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara just couldn't bring himself to leave her that night, no matter that she was unconscious. He didn't fall asleep himself, but instead continued to hold her close, not wanting to let go.

'Why doesn't her demon take control while she is asleep?'

**Her demon is a lesser demon, one without the strength the take over during sleep. Sakura's demon can only take control during highly stressful emotional times or when Sakura allows her too.**

'Do you know the identity of Sakura's demon?'

**Yes.**

'Will you share the information?'

**She has her reasons for staying hidden and unknown, in time it will all be revealed.**

Gaara sighed and carefully moved Sakura into a more comfortable position for him. He slipped her shirt off to make a pillow for her, not caring about the fact that now she only had a bra covering her upper body.

Gaara did, however, notice the scar on Sakura's chest, placed just above her breasts. It was a kenji. Gaara squinted, trying to get a better look. It was the peace kenji, the exact one Sakura had written on her wall a week previous. So that is why she drew both kenjis, it made sense now, but why had Sakura chosen piece as her scar?

Was that her want, the thing she wanted the most, just like Gaara wanted love? It didn't make a whole lot of sense, because peace of pretty vague. He guessed if you thought about it, love could be kind of vague too.

Sakura moaned in her sleep, falling into her dreams even deeper.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi and Shizune stood shocked outside of Sakura and Gaara's rooms as they looked at the guards asleep in their sand bindings.

"Would you prefer I look?" Kakashi asked, eyeing the opened doors.

Shizune nodded.

Kakashi looked inside Gaara's room to find it empty, no sign of Gaara. He then moved to the next room, expecting Gaara and Sakura to have escaped together. Instead, his heart softened at the sight.

Sakura was asleep, snuggling her face as close to him as possible while being held in Gaara's arms. He, however, was awake, and watching her facial expressions change with her dreams. It really was a cute sight, if it weren't for all the sand mixed with blood.

Kakashi signaled Shizune and she tip-toed over. She gasped at the sight, which caused Gaara to look up. He didn't understand Kakashi and Shizune's curious, surprised, and awed expressions.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"What happened?" Tsunade asked, demanding an explanation.

"We don't know." Shizune said, "But Gaara got out of his room, pinning the guards to the wall, and went to Sakura's room. We don't know why, but she is absolutely covered in blood, while he only has a little bit on him, looks like transfer.

"I thought they were getting better." Tsunade sighed, downing a cup of sake in one drink. "I will go through with it anyway; it will probably help them, to meet these people. But, Kakashi and you are to be with them at all times from now on, I don't want something like this happening again."

Kakashi and Shizune both nodded.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura felt warm, really warm, and it felt nice. Warmth and heat enveloped her body, surrounding her, holding her to the heat source. She wanted more of this warmth, for she had only experienced this same thing once before, when somebody had hugged her.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open as she took in her surroundings. Her head was resting against fabric, which belonged to a person. Moaning to the protests of cramped muscles, Sakura looked up.

Black-rimmed eyes due to loss of sleep looked at Sakura, but showed no emotion. What was Gaara doing here and why was he watching her sleep? That was when Sakura noticed she was being held to him, and was using him as both a heat source and a pillow.

Sakura struggled as she moved away from Gaara, backing up to the wall. What had happened last night?

Gaara anticipated the question. "You were about to kill yourself, so I stopped you."

"That doesn't explain…"

"As soon as I stopped you from slitting your own throat, you fell asleep. You looked like you could use the sleep."

Sakura tried to perform one of her nervous habits, twisting her shirt around a finger, when she noticed she wasn't wearing a shirt. Sakura looked from her almost-bare chest to Gaara, who had his eyes fully on her face.

Sakura had read more than enough books to know to be embarrassed. He probably wasn't looking at her chest because he had gotten an eyeful the night before. Sakura moved swiftly and grabbed a spare shirt from under the bed.

"Clean up!" Kakashi said happily, "You two have an important meeting with Tsunade!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 (_**Because I suck at filler scenes where Sakura will quickly shower and Gaara will change and then they will walk to the room they both fear and hate, blah blah blah blah.**_)

Why weren't they mad? Sakura asked herself, sitting in her usual corner of the room. She was avoiding looking at Gaara, perched on his sill. Surely Shizune and Kakashi should have mentioned about the fact that Gaara had broken out of his room, or the fact that he was found in Sakura's room.

"Good morning!" Tsunade said cheerfully, walking into the room while whistling and swinging her file. "I have a surprise for you! There are three people I would like you to meet!"

"Three people?" Gaara asked, glancing at the door before returning his gaze to something out the window.

"Yep, three very important people. They are young chounin who were given an assignment."

Sakura looked up at Tsunade. "Ninja? What, more body-guards?"

"These chounin could probably hold you two off, but they wouldn't be very effective guards."

"Then who are they?"

Tsunade smiled at Sakura, grinning and smirking at the same time. "Come on in you three!" she called.

The door opened for the second time.

( ) ( + ) ( + ) ( + ) ( + ) (

_**Cliff-hanger, booyah! Ok, so I only had one of the scenes in this chapter planned, the rest just sort of happened, so I was expecting the chapter to be a lot shorter. Booyah! Almost four-thousand words done in three hours! I am so proud.**_

_**Figured out Sakura's demon yet? Let's just say the demon is week compared to the others, but has high chakra control.**_

_**Until tomorrow or late tonight! Whichever!**_

Forgive any grammar mistakes; I am too tired and lazy to look for grammar mistakes at the moment. My grandma would kill me for saying that.


	5. Comfort?

_**Guessed which demon it is yet? If you haven't been able to figure it out, I will give you a hint. What could Sakura do before either Sasuke or Naruto? It happened during the Mission of the Wave. Also, I give plenty of hints, talking about how strong the demon is, and its power, think what Sakura (in my story) likes the most, think chapter one and/or two.**_

Chapter Five: Comfort, Why?

Tsunade beckoned at the door. It opened for the second time that day, bringing people in.

A blonde kid in black and orange walked in, his spiky hair accenting the head-protector around his forehead. He smiled, nodded, and took a seat at the table with Tsunade. The second person was a girl, blackish blue hair that came down to her waist, with bangs as long as her chin. She kept her eyes cast to the ground.

At the sight of number three, Inner Sakura gave a purr. Sakura suddenly wanted to flutter her eyelashes, without any idea why. He had black hair that was kind of spiky, but not like the blonde kids, and he was cute, with black onyx eyes that glittered for no reason. He sort of reminded Sakura of Gaara.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade indicated the blonde kid, who smiled and waved at Gaara and Sakura. Gaara didn't even look at the newcomers, but Sakura, especially inner Sakura, was quite fascinated. "This is Hyuuga Hinata," The girl gave a shy little smile, "And Uchiha Sasuke." Purr…

Gaara raised a questioning eyebrow, which Tsunade saw. She began to answer the unasked inquiry. "Konoha Chounins on a mission. Each team was assigned a certain place that had something to do with ninjas. I don't know if you two knew this, but this hospital only deals with mentally unstable ninjas."

Sakura looked the three over and then settled on Tsunade. "That explains the interesting security; you are saving ninjas from themselves."

Tsunade nodded. "This team had the unlucky draw of the ninja hospital, and I decided you two would be great subjects. You are always together, so it would be fairly easy for them to study you.

"Wednesday, after training, the team will spend time in the recreation center asking questions, eat dinner with you, and then leave. On Saturday, they will arrive early morning, stay throughout the day, sleep in some special guest quarters over the night, and leave Sunday evening, the entire time studying you. One of them will sit in our little meetings, but not all three of them, taking notes. You will answer every question asked of you, understood?"

"Why are we doing this?" Gaara asked, attitude and unconcern spread throughout his tone.

"Because I said so." Tsunade stated, slamming her hand on the table. "Today is Saturday, and if you hurt either of these kids, so help me I will kill you myself!" Tsunade turned toward the other two. "Ok, the rules. You are forbidden to ask about treatment. Two, if you ever show up with the tiniest amount of blood on you, you will die; one of these two will kill you."

Unable to help herself, Sakura grinned wickedly and nodded, which made Naruto and Hinata gulp.

"No weapons, no offensive movements unless you are attacked first, no provoking, no touching them, and no, might I repeat, blood, especially around Sakura. I will leave you five alone for the next two hours." And with that, Tsunade left the room, leaving behind several surprised people, even if only two of them showed it.

Sakura didn't like all of these people, especially the silence. The more people, the more Sakura wanted to talk, and she didn't want to talk to these people. Her eyes searched out Gaara as she pushed herself farther and farther into her corner, desperately wishing the room was dark.

Gaara caught Sakura's eye, watching her shift and shiver, he could see the pleading in her eyes. She didn't like the silence, not one bit. Gaara took a quick casual look over at the table, wondering what he should do. He didn't really know why, but Gaara wanted to help Sakura. He knew that the more uncomfortable she was, the more likely her demon would take control, and then the whole room would be in trouble.

Hadn't somebody said Sakura liked the dark? He guessed that, if Sakura were in the dark, she wouldn't really be able to see all of these people, and therefore wouldn't find the need to talk. She wouldn't be forced to talk, how ironic.

Gaara willed his sand, brought it from nowhere, and willed it to the window and the door, showing the place in darkness after smothering the overhanging light. "I like the dark." He stated simply, like it was some stupid fact everybody should know. Gaara smirked when Sakura sighed in relief.

"Hinata?" Naruto's annoying voice asked.

"I can see enough to take notes." She replied.

"The one with sand was lying." Sasuke said, having activated his Sharingan. "Why lie?"

"What do you mean, he was lying?" Naruto asked.

"I read the files, unlike you Naruto, the girl likes the dark, not him."

Naruto scrunched his face. "Why would you lie?"

"I didn't." Gaara said, "I like the dark. They wrote it on the wrong file."

Sakura hardly listened to the discourse, instead concentrating on the darkness. Darkness; so nice, so serene, so tranquil, so _peaceful_. And yet, these people frightened her. They were new, unknown, not something Sakura wanted to deal with. She had always felt that way around new people; Sakura was still quite weary of Tsunade. Gaara, however, was a comfortable thing, one Sakura had accepted into her life. She knew that if Gaara was given the prime opportunity, he would kill her, but she didn't care. He was familiar, known, and something stable in Sakura's life at the moment, that was why she accepted him.

The Uchiha bothered her the most. His eyes, they showed something intense, like Gaara's eyes, but a different intense. Sakura didn't know the emotion showed, but she didn't like it.

Sakura moved along the wall, heading for the window, where she knew Gaara would still be perched. He was familiar, and Sakura wanted stability. Naruto was talking about the things he liked as he and his team were introducing each other. Sakura could feel the heat radiating off Gaara's body, and for the first time she wondered why he produced so much heat. She touched his leg, gently, before pressing herself to it.

Gaara instinctively looked down when Sakura grabbed his leg. She was cold, her skin sending shivers up his leg, but he let her be. If Sakura needed to touch his leg, what would the harm be? She wasn't trying to kill him; therefore the sand didn't try to stop her when she reached out her hands to touch him.

They both understood why she clung to him. Familiarity was what humans thrived for, what they really wanted, something familiar always at all times, and the closest thing Sakura had to that was Gaara, at the moment.

"D-do you not have f-family names?" Hinata asked.

"No." Sakura said, "We don't have families."

Hinata looked up to see Sakura so close to Gaara. She was kind of surprised; it had been looking like the girl would stay in the corner.

"So you have always been here?" Naruto asked, his over-joyous voice sounding out of place.

"No," Sasuke answered for them, "Did you even read part of the files, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly.

Sasuke and Hinata both rolled their eyes.

Sasuke and Naruto kept asking questions, some stupid and some thoughtful. They asked about the past, about their personalities: favorite color, food, season, clothing, book.

"Brown, none, none, robes, none."

Sakura rattled off the things unconsciously. "Color black, season spring, clothing nothing, book many, food…" and before Sakura could stop herself, she said "Blood."

Gaara felt Sakura squeeze his leg tightly as she realized what she had said. She moaned, feeling nauseous, as she pressed her face into his knee, attempting to hide. Gaara smirked; for somebody so smart, she really knew how to be dumb.

Inner Sakura decided she didn't want to be quiet anymore. _Just look at him! That raven-black hair, like the night-time sky, those gorgeous eyes, his body so lean and muscular, he is strong and smart._

Sakura swallowed nervously. She wanted nothing more than to ignore Inner Sakura.

After many more questions, Kakashi entered the room, announcing lunch. Before Kakashi could flip on a flashlight, Sakura was back huddled in her corner. She didn't know why she moved so fast, she just knew that she had to.

During lunch, Sakura wasn't the one talking for once, and Gaara hated it. Naruto was talking about meaningless things, like things that he did and places he went, thinking that Gaara and Sakura were missing out on things. Sakura didn't eat, Gaara hadn't expected her too. Lunch was some sort of meaty substance, and Sakura was a bit of a vegetarian without evening meaning to be.

Gaara slipped something into Sakura's lap under the table. Crackers? Sakura looked up at him, slightly confused, but he only took a bite of his food and swallowed, indicating for her to eat. She did, taking nibbles out of the four crackers, crackers left over from the day before.

When they all ended up in the recreation room, it was to find that they had it to themselves. Hinata and Naruto sat down on the loveseat, Sakura and Gaara took opposite ends of the couch, and Sasuke took the chair. They didn't talk.

Finally, it was too much for Sakura and she began walking down the list of words she had left off the previous day, beginning with the word after love and working her way downward. Hinata took some more notes, completely fascinated by what Sakura was saying.

Gaara refused to take his eyes of Uchiha Sasuke, he couldn't miss the looks Sakura kept giving the Uchiha, but he couldn't tell if Sakura knew what she was doing. Every time Sakura's eyes sought out Sasuke, they seemed to flash purple for only a spare millisecond, and then returned to normal. Was the demon within Sakura trying to mark Sasuke somehow?

**Maybe she is teasing us.** Shukaku suggested, envy and jealousy could be felt by Gaara. **We can't let her bait us like that, no we can not. Do something, Gaara!**

'I can't do something until I understand.' Gaara pointed at, looking at Sakura.

"Why do people seek comfort?" Gaara asked out-of-the-blue, cutting of Sakura in her explanation for mechanics.

"People seek comfort as an escape." Sakura answered immediately, barely pausing to think over her answer. "It provides relief, momentary solace, and a means in which to forget so much for a short amount of time. People also seek the physical comfort, the feeling of having something warm near them, touching them, soothing away everything in the blink of an eye."

Gaara nodded. "Why do people seek what they do?"

"Everybody has goals, dreams, all defined by a past." Sasuke stated, absorbed in the conversation. "The past influences the things we want, and what we want is what we seek."

"What do you seek?" Sakura asked Sasuke, already knowing what answer Gaara would give.

Gaara turned to Sasuke too, having figured out what Sakura wanted the night before.

"That is for me to know."

"Revenge." Hinata said, her voice shaky. "Sasuke seeks revenge."

"I think everybody seeks acknowledgement." Naruto injected, actually sounding smart for the first time that day. "People want to be acknowledged by others, but the reasons and types of acknowledgement are different based on different people, usually influenced by the past."

And silence reigned over them. Sakura was too frightened to break the silence, even though it was filled with tension, more tension than Sakura had ever dealt with, and she dealt with quite a bit of tension.

Gaara could feel Sakura stiffen as minute by minute passed, until she was so solid she might as well be a statue, like him. Gaara didn't want to break the silence either, he didn't do it from fear, just knowledge that the consequence of breaking the tension would be severe.

It was an interesting day so far, and there was still another quarter of it to complete.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura starred up at her ceiling, paying only vague attention to Inner Sakura's wild fantasies, ones that had something to do with the Uchiha Sasuke thing. Sakura could feel the camera in the corner, its lens trained on her.

Sakura sighed, winced at a particular graphic part in the fantasy, and then turned over, glaring at the latest thing she had created in blood. Last nights spatter had a great amount of images in it, ones Sakura could barely make out.

She knew that they were watching her, the three so-called ninjas. The day had been so uncomfortable, just like that first day with Gaara. But, unlike Gaara, Sakura refused to accept these new people into her life. They were studying her, trying to cure her.

"I wish I knew your name." Sakura said aloud.

_One day soon, you will learn it. Of this, I can promise you. _He_ is watching us again._

Sakura looked up at the vent, and sure enough, only seconds later, sand filtered through it, swirling around to make a tiny mound of sand.

On the other side of the wall, Gaara was in full control of the sand. Sakura was worried about something, and Gaara wanted to know what it was. He forced the sand to move, to crawl innocently to her, make its way up the bed post, and to wrap itself around her wrist, hardening into a bangle bracelet.

Sakura touched it gently, mesmerized. Gaara really knew how to surprise her sometimes. Like the night before, Gaara had stopped Sakura from killing herself, and she couldn't but help wonder why. Why would Gaara do something like that?

_Shukaku wants _us_ alive._ Inner answered for her. _He only wants to use us._

Sakura knew Inner Sakura was right, but she didn't want to believe it. Sakura wanted to believe that he came to her room for a reason, a reason that meant something to Sakura too.

As Sakura closed her eyes, wishing she was tired, she yearned for something. The night before, Sakura had fallen asleep against something warm, it was such a change to her usual cold environment, and it had felt nice, too nice.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The six of them were all in a room with sleeping bags on the floor, a TV put against the wall. The screen was divided in half, one room dominating one part of the screen, another taking up the other half.

"Last night, something weird happened." Tsunade told the room. "I have the tapes if you would like to see, but it was an abnormal occurrence that will probably never be repeated."

Sasuke nodded. "This assignment is going to be harder than previously thought."

Naruto let out a big yawn. "So what did they do? And why are they paired together? They are like opposites of each other, but not the kind of attraction opposite. It makes no sense."

"For once, you actually sound smart, baka." Sasuke smirked.

"I was actually expecting more exciting things by now." Tsunade admitted. "Surely they should be forming some sort of bond, like demons usually do when together. Shukaku likes to attach himself to females, since he is extremely playful. But, Gaara seems to have gained none of Shukaku's personality. He constantly defies Shukaku's playfulness, except for when Shukaku really wants to play.

"Sakura is another story. I am getting closer to pinpointing her demon, but not yet close enough. You should see the walls of her room."

"W-what d-did they d-do last-t n-night?" Hinata asked, intimidated by Tsunade.

"Sakura's demon broke loose after a patient in the recreation room shed some blood, it was a simple scrape, nothing major, but Sakura went insane."

"Gaara pinned her to the floor until she settled." Kakashi recalled. He was lazily sitting in a chair reading his little orange book.

"And then, Sakura went nuts again, but in the confines of her own room. Gaara knew about it, escaped his room, burst into Sakura's room, and stopped her seconds before she took her own life."

"So basically, Gaara showed compassion?" Naruto asked, not understanding what was wrong with that.

"G-Gaara shouldn't a-act like th-that, right?"

Sasuke nodded his head. "So, he has his reasons for wanting Sakura alive, huh?"

Tsunade nodded. "Shizune, Kakashi, I want you two outside their doors."

Shizune and Kakashi disappeared with the slightest movement of fabric. The other four continued to exam the footage.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

'Why can't I see her when she sleeps?' Gaara asked Shukaku. 'I have never watched somebody sleep before.'

**Although her demon can't take full control, it can put up defenses while Sakura sleeps, making sure that her vessel is kept safe. **

'She was the cutest thing yesterday.' Gaara admitted, not noticing the word he had used to describe Sakura.

**You will most definitely come to my way of thinking.**

Gaara stood up from his crisscross position on the floor. Concentrating, he willed his body to sand. He felt himself dissolve away into a little pile, part of his eye over there, a tiny piece of toe over here. Gaara willed his body to move, finding individual parts and forcing them on their way, through the tiny cracks in the wall, through and over wood pieces, until they poured into Sakura's room.

Making his body return to normal, with every grain of sand in its right place, took time, but Gaara managed. He did, however, manage to leave a toenail and fingernail switched. Then, Gaara made his way over to Sakura's bed, crouching beside it.

Pink hair fluttered in front of Sakura's face, moving with her breathing, up…down…up…down. It was hypnotizing and neurotic, addicting and rhythmic, amazing and breathtaking.

O) O) O) O) O) O) O)

Sakura swam in darkness, nothing but the dark as she floated eternally in it. She knew she was cold, she knew she was tired, she knew she was sleeping, and she knew that she was surrounded by one of the things she loved the most.

Out of nowhere, Sakura suddenly felt something warm near her. She didn't know what it was, she didn't care what it was, and she knew she had to have it. Lunge for it she did, capturing it and bringing it close, until she was nice and snug against it. The warmth flooded her body, driving away the numb feeling she had had for so long.

It was heaven.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara tensed when something grabbed the arm he had resting on the bed, and then fell forward when whatever it was pulled him closer. Before Gaara knew what had happened, Sakura was using his arm as a plushie. She muttered a single word. "Warmth!"

"She's cold?" Gaara asked the room.

**Then give her warmth!** Without Gaara knowing, Shukaku was smirking.

Prodded and instructed by Shukaku, Gaara climbed onto the bed and lay down, about a few inches away from Sakura's sleeping form. She felt his heat and inched over, releasing his arm. What good was a tiny heat source when she could have something bigger?

(_**Ok, I would like to thank the author Paws-Bells for this one, because she highlighted how much Sakura loved heat sources, no matter who or what that heat source was. She mentioned it in her story **_Shukaku Love_** and it just seems so right. Plus, it gives Sakura a reason to cuddle with Gaara. ^^;)**_

Sakura snuggled close, burying herself into his chest. Hesitantly, and beckoned by Shukaku, Gaara placed his arms around Sakura, drawing her closer. She smiled and sighed, muttering about something contentedly. Something about this felt right, but Gaara couldn't pinpoint it.

As long as Sakura didn't try to kill herself again, Gaara would do anything.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Just outside the room, Shizune and Kakashi's eyes were bugging out as they looked at Sakura snuggled up close to Gaara. They had watched the entire exchange, and weren't jumping to conclusions.

"Isn't he supposed to kill her for touching him?" Kakashi asked. For once, he had put down his little orange book.

"She snuggled up to him for warmth, right? That is kind of what it looked like, and Gaara accepted it all, without an argument or too much hesitation."

"They have really only known each other for a week, and yet they are beginning to change each other."

A few rooms away, Tsunade was having the exact same thought. "Her actions suggest she has no idea what she is doing." Tsunade replayed the tape. "Sakura wants heat, I believe, Gaara emits quite a bit of it. She has no idea."

"W-why are y-you s-miling?" Hinata asked.

"Gaara didn't pull away; he is growing close to her. I think the time to exploit this is coming. You won't fail the mission I have set for you, will you?"

They all shook their heads.

Tsunade moved toward the door and yawned. "Get some sleep; it will be an interesting day tomorrow."

"Why do we have to keep up the charade of a project?" Naruto asked for the umpteenth time that day. "None of the other ninjas have to do this!"

"Because it is a mission, baka!" Sasuke retorted, rolling his eyes. "Tsunade hired us, but we have to be discreet, which means that only she can know our true intentions."

"And what are those again?" Naruto asked, also for the umpteenth time.

"Baka!" Sasuke trudged over to his corner with his sleeping bag.

"Y-you aren't a b-b-baka, N-n-n-naruto-k-k-kun." Hinata smiled shyly and went over to her sleeping bag, which was only a few feet away from Naruto's.

"Why do you stutter so much?"

"Stop asking stupid questions and go to sleep!" Sasuke growled.

Shutting up for once, Naruto slipped into his bag.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o (_**Ok, things are going to get long in this chapter, because I don't want to put it into chapter six, since I don't really know how else I am going to do the rest of this, there are just some scenes that need to be put in here. So, think of this as a double chapter, and if you need to stop, you can use this as a stopping point. It is like a miniature commercial. BOOYAH! THE POWER OF PINE-SOL BABY! THE MONEY-YOU-COULD-BE-SAVING-WITH-GEIKO THEME SONG! MCDONALDS TOY COMMERICAL! ADOPT A PET TODAY (with some very sad looking puppies and kitties, {goes gushy eyes} I WANT ONE!!! If you have one of the following medical conditions and you have had a something-model heart defibrillator installed to your heart, then you could receive this money grant. On the next episode of Fringe: things get even weirder. Ok, that is it for my commercial break, now back to the story!)**_

Sakura could feel the warmth, it surrounded her body, oh so pleasant. Sakura had never experienced anything quite like this before, being warm from head to toe with a pleasant tingly feeling spreading throughout Sakura's body.

Sakura tried to move even closer to the warm thing giving her heat, she needed this heat source. It squirmed when she moved, and her eyes fluttered open. Sakura saw skin, and some muscles, was this a chest?

Sakura didn't quite understand. She pulled back, regrettably, to get a better look. Jade met emerald, causing Sakura's cheeks to fluster and heat up, something that wasn't caused by the direct result of being close to a heat source.

Gaara looked at her indifferently; slightly surprised that she was awake. She looked confused, extremely confused, so Gaara gave Sakura an explanation. "You grabbed my arm last night, and you wouldn't let go."

Sakura eyed him. "One: You are stronger than I am. Two: What were you doing in my room?"

Gaara didn't take his eyes away from Sakura's, testing in a battle of wills. The truth was, he didn't know the answer himself.

"The time?"

"Kakashi will be in my room five minutes from now, make that four and 44 seconds, absentmindedly reading his little perverted book while telling me it is time for breakfast and then the meeting with Tsunade."

Sakura's eyes widened, something had just dawned on her. She turned her head ever so slowly until it was looking at a certain camera in a certain corner. "They would have seen everything!"

Gaara raised an absent eyebrow.

"The camera would have seen you sleeping, with me, in my bed, me snuggled up next to you."

"What are you talking about?" Gaara demanded, "You are the one who wouldn't let go of my arm."

"But it was so warm!"

"This isn't a situation out of a book, we didn't do anything."

Sakura was about to respond, but she felt her gut wrench and squirm. Sakura moaned, right before doing something she really didn't want to do, she vomited.

It went flying, splattering Gaara's torso with the gist of it. His face retained a stony look, completely unreadable, if Sakura hadn't been able to read eyes. On the inside, he was surprised, and completely unsure of what the kami was happening.

Sakura gagged, knowing what was coming, and scrambled off the bed and to the toilet in the corner of the room, puking her guts out from there.

_This will be a warning._

Sakura puked again, a single sob shaking her body, as she demanded to know why from her inner.

_You are getting too close to this Gaara person. Stay away!_

'Only a day ago you wanted him unlike anything else in the world.'

_I found a new play-toy, something much more exciting than Shukaku._

'Uchiha Sasuke?' Sakura puked again.

_He has a strange aura power around him, one I have never seen before. He will make a great play-thing._

Sakura was reminded of last nights inner fantasies and gagged again, this time on her own. So Inner Sakura didn't want the real Sakura to get close to Gaara?

And that was as far as Sakura got in her thinking before five med-nins burst into the room and injected Sakura with multiple drugs. Somehow, they managed to drug Gaara too, but Sakura was uncertain of how or why.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Shukaku struggled against the drugs, sending both he and Gaara into an uproar. **They drugged her, they drugged her, we have to kill them!**

Gaara's body twisted as Shukaku tried to break-free. Something told Gaara that Shukaku wanted to claim Sakura's demon as his mate, and that was why he was so ticked. Gaara wrenched his wrist free from one of the med-nins, attempting to break-free.

"You don't understand!" One of the ninjas tried to assure him, "If we don't drug her, her demon will kill her!"

**Stop struggling boy and let the stupid ninjas do their job.**

Gaara's muscles went slack. 'You can be so contradictive.' He snapped at Shukaku.

The medic ninjas carried Sakura away on a litter, some vomit dripping from her mouth. Would Sakura be ok?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara waited in _the_ room, waiting for those stupid so called ninjas to come in. Gaara continued to look at the door every few seconds, wondering if Sakura would be ok to come in.

Soon enough, only seconds before the ninjas came in, Sakura was escorted by Shizune, good as new, except that her hair was a bedraggled mess. She didn't look at Gaara as she sat in her corner, keeping her eyes on the ground. Gaara could see tears.

Gaara didn't know that Sakura was having an inner battle with herself, trying to get her demon to listen to her, but to no avail.

Sakura's world was being turned upside down again. Two weeks ago, Sakura was forced to this facility, so much different from hers, given a new room, new guards, new schedule, and new instructions and rules. Between Tsunade's weird schedule and being forced to spend time with Gaara, Sakura had begun to crack.

Then, things started becoming normal, familiar. Gaara was a part of Sakura's life, whether it is good or bad, something solid that existed, something Sakura wanted to stay. It was weird that he would become an object that Sakura was familiar with, but he was, and Sakura needed the object, just like she needed the pictures on her walls, just like her demon needed blood.

Now, Sakura was going to have to spend time with three new people, three people that both Sakura and inner (minus the Uchiha) disliked, and things were going to change. Plus, Inner Sakura wanted Sakura to stay away from Gaara, because of a shift in interests and Shukaku. Gaara was basically being forced from Sakura's possession, and she couldn't do a thing about it.

The three ninjas settled into their chairs and looked over at the two patients. Gaara was on his window ledge looking out at the stormy weather while Sakura sat huddled in the corner, hugging her knees with desperation.

"So do you guys like the hospital?" Naruto asked, grinning.

Gaara shrugged, Sakura stayed silent.

"Have you ever left?" Hinata asked, chewing her lip worriedly.

Gaara shook his head, Sakura didn't move.

"Do you think you can be cured?"

Gaara shrugged again. Sakura fidgeted before mumbling a 'no'.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the girl.

_He is looking at us!_

"We are fused with demons, how do you cure that?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Tsunade thinks it can be done."

"The demons are a part of us; they dominate us, like personalities. One can't change who they are anymore than a pig can grow wings."

"But people change all the time."

Sakura shook her head. "It will forever be a cover-up, their true beings hidden just beneath the surface, waiting for the shell to crack so they may be released."

All heads were on Sasuke and Sakura's conversation.

"So you believe changing is truly impossible?"

Sakura nodded sadly.

"What about influential power?"

"Like revenge, power, lust?"

Sasuke nodded.

"They don't make us do things, they just help reveal who we truly are. Revenge, usually associated with those who want power. Power: control. Lust? They only strip away the shell, bringing out our true beings."

They carried on back and forth, having an extremely long conversation of ethics and beliefs, astounding the listeners. Naruto and Hinata were learning new things about their partner, and Gaara had had no idea Sakura was so intelligent.

When the conversation carried on throughout the day, going through lunch and up until evening, Hinata and Naruto started telling jokes to each other, giggling or laughing in whispers. Naruto would lean into Hinata's ear, and then Hinata would lean into Naruto's ear, each relaying something or another.

Gaara, however, was interested in all of these things Sakura had to say. He was learning information about her, information that could be used to control even.

_**(Jeesh, I am struggling so much with this chapter, I officially hate this chapter! Somebody, please, for my sake, criticize it, I really truly need somebody to say something about it! Anything, absolutely anything, as long as it is criticism. Understood? Good! I HATE THIS CHAPTER!) **_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura leaned against the wall, trying to hold down a nauseous feeling. Inner had just caught Sakura thinking about Gaara, wishing they had been alone in the recreation room while Sakura began to go through a list of words in a dictionary. Familiarity was peaceful.

Just on the other side of the wall, Gaara was lying back against it, contemplating everything Sakura had said that day. Turned out, she and Gaara had a lot of the same thinking beliefs.

"Sakura?" He said out-loud for no reason.

On the other side of the wall, Sakura heard Gaara say her name. She turned to the wall, assuming he was leaning against the same one. "Yes?" she said before another wave of nausea overtook her.

Gaara peered at the wall behind him in surprise, was she against her wall too? "Why do humans want what they want?"

Gaara heard Sakura sigh. "I don't know."

"Why do you want peace?"

"Why do you want love?"

They both sighed at the same time.

"I miss you." Sakura said softly.

"Why?" Gaara asked, "You don't make any sense."

"I just miss you."

Gaara didn't think twice about it before dissolving himself into sand and reappearing in Sakura's room, he had an easier time of it this time than the night before. He materialized right beside her.

Sakura gave a start and opened her half closed eyes. She turned to her left, surprised to feel something warm emitting heat near her. Sakura looked up at Gaara's face, his emotionless face, so blank.

She smiled. "That is better." Sakura grabbed one of his arms and leaned up against it, relishing in the warmth. "So warm." She murmered.

"Why do you want peace?" Gaara asked again.

"I want peace within myself. Everything is so chaotic! My mind is tortured by my 'demon', the outside world is so hectic, and killing is anything but tranquil. I want a place where everything is calm and peaceful, and I don't have to worry about all of this I feel around me. You are peaceful, because you are normal, something I can count on to be there when I wake up, and to be where I know you will be when I fall asleep.

"Why do you want love?"

"Love is the only thing that can cure me." Gaara whispered to her. "I have this deep pain within my heart. I was told that it would go away when I found love."

Sakura mumbled something, and then drifted into unconscious, the heat from Gaara's body lulling her to sleep.

_**(And I end the chapter here, thank god that is over! I can't take anymore of this! I think I moved to fast, much to fast, this really wasn't supposed to happen for another chapter or so, but then my fingers had a mind of their own and went to work ruining what I was trying to achieve. Please, I need to hear what somebody really thinks of this, that way I might be able to fix the mess I have placed in this.**_

_**The next chapter is going to get exciting, really exciting. The ninjas are here to stay, we might find about their 'mission', Sakura and Gaara grow closer together in a new environment, and Tsunade discovers Sakura's secret.**_

_**Keep reading! I will probably take a break from this, because my twin gave me the best idea for a one-shot and another little silly cross-over story that will be done when I run out of ideas for things. So, two days from now! Maybe, final exams are coming up, soooooo ^^;**_


	6. Control

_**Will Sakura's demon be revealed in this chapter? Seeing as how not even I know, I can't exactly tell you. I can promise one thing though. Blood, plenty of blood, is what you will be seeing (or imagining) in this exciting chapter of my story. Dark Lilly brought it too my attention that the last couple chapters have been a little void of blood and gore, so I AM HERE TO FIX IT! BOOYAH! I am planning a really cool fight scene too. Forgive me when I kill too many villagers.**_

_**Also, it has come to my attention that nobody ever writes anything about Chouji, and when they do, he is gay! With Shikamaru! Now, we know Shikamaru likes one of two girls, Naruto likes Sakura, and everything else, so it makes no sense to pair Chouji with one of the guys. So, for my next one-shot, I am going to draw out one of the girls' names from a hat and pair Chouji with her, no matter who ends up coming out of the hat. It sounds like a good reading challenge. I kind of hope it isn't Hinata though, since that goes against my whole Hinata/Kiba thing I've got going on at the mo.**_

_**Until the end of the chapter where you get to hear me ramble some more!**_

THE WEAKNESS OF DEMONS

Sakura and Gaara simultaneously lay back on their beds, thinking. Tomorrow was Team-Sevens return.

The last two weeks had been a blur for Sakura. So much was happening in so little time. She absolutely relished the days when things would be normal again, with her and Gaara allowed back to perfectly established routine.

Now, Gaara and Sakura had started another little ritual. Sakura had found that without at least Gaara's arm, she couldn't sleep, which made her emotionally unstable. Inner Sakura had taken a chance of gaining control of the body during this time. Tsunade hadn't quite put two and two together yet, but Sakura always slept near Gaara, soaking in every last bit of warmth his body produced.

"I don't understand how he does it!" Kakashi said, eyeing the tapes yet again.

"One moment he is there, the next he is with Sakura." Shizune said shyly, completely unsure of everything.

"Why?" Tsunade asked. The only thing to answer her was a squeal from the pig at her feet. "Why does he go to Sakura's room? Why not escape the facility?"

Kakashi and Shizune both shrugged, completely stumped.

Fortunately, Tsunade and her trusties didn't do anything about it, mostly due to the fact that Sakura and Gaara hadn't had many demon-breaks.

The shinobi had come during their designated times, spending recreation-time and dinner with Sakura and Gaara on Wednesdays, asking stupid and useless questions while studying every action; also staying with the two demon-vessels during the entire days of Saturday and Sunday.

Worst of all, Sakura had felt a change come over her every time Sasuke was near, and she knew it was inner's doing. Sakura's queasy stomach from being around Gaara would immediately vanish. Sakura would feel herself smile and cast the raven-haired boy certain looks, and she couldn't stop herself.

Later, Sakura would curse that her stomach was fine around Sasuke, but absolutely awful around Gaara. Usually in the middle of the night, Sakura would wake up about twice or more to puke her guts out, and several times during the day.

Could life get any worse than it already was?

______________________________________________________________________

"I think they are ready." Sasuke reported to Tsunade, his same annoyed look plastered across his face.

"Are you sure?"

Hinata and Naruto both nodded.

"Ok then, tomorrow you can take them. I want five more Shinobi hired to watch over them. One false move, they are to be paralyzed, understood?"

Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata all nodded for an answer, bobbing their heads yes. They exited the room.

"Are-are you sh-sure about th-this, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked.

Sasuke nodded. "The only signs of demon-control have been when Sakura loses her eyes, slightly. She hasn't injured anybody, just been super nice."

Naruto laughed for no reason. "It will be fine, Hinata-chan, I promise!" He winked, smiled, and thumbs upped, flashing her the Gai look.

___________________________________________________________________

"Put these on." Sasuke ordered, tossing both Gaara and Sakura a bag of clothes. "Today, we go on a field-trip."

"What makes you think you can just boss us around like that?" Sakura asked defiantly.

"Tsunade's orders."

"She doesn't control us."

Sasuke just smirked. "Fine, I will make it worth your while. We are going into town, where you can eat whatever you would like, listen to whatever you like, wear what you like, buy up to a hundred-dollars in purchases (I don't know Japanese Currency) and…"

"I think we get the point." Gaara said sarcastically. He opened the bag and pulled out some baggy-pants, a plain black shirt, and a simple green sweater. He tossed the sweater away, it clashed with his eyes.

Sakura was looking at the tangle of clothes before her. There was a skirt, a tank-top, a sweatshirt, and a pair of high-cuffed boots.

Gaara willed his sand to make up a little barrier for Sakura to change in while he stripped out of the stupid hospital garb and into the much more free-feelings clothes. Sakura emerged, tugging at the skirt uncomfortably, and wobbled when she walked. She immediately took off the boots and dumped them in the corner.

She looked different, Gaara thought, in that over-big sweatshirt that she kept unzipped, with the tank-top underneath. Sakura definitely did not like the skirt though. Sakura was also thinking likewise with Gaara and his loose kaki pants and tight white shirt.

"We are going shopping!" Naruto cheered, sticking his arm in the air!

Hinata clapped her hands together, infected with Naruto's excitement.

Before Gaara or Sakura knew what was happening, they had passed the main-gates of the complex and were in a car, without guards, but in the backseat with the other three ninja, Shizune and Kakashi up front. (_**You know, my story is so backwards. Let's just say, cars are used for hospitals, and it is the safest way to get Gaara and Sakura to the market. Otherwise, I will attempt to stick to the technology that is in the show.**_)

A half-an-hour later, and they were with the group walking through a crowded street. People rushed by, intent on their shopping, some stopping outside stores to talk with friends and acquaintances. People brushed by the large group carrying groceries, items, or children, sometimes tugging on an animal.

"OI!" A gruff voiced called out, "NARUTO!" A man soon came into view, leading a very large dog. Standing next to him were two others, a boy and a girl. The boy wore a shirt with a high collar, covering his face, a pair of shades for his eyes, a hood. The girl had sand-colored hair done up in curly pig-tails, and an overenthusiastic smile.

The first guy came up and grabbed Naruto in a friendly hug. "Dude, we haven't seen you three in a long time. Hi Hinata!" For Hinata, the man gave an extra smile with a wink. "Sasuke!" head nod in acknowledgement.

"Kiba! What are you doing here? I remember somebody saying something about a joint-mission with Team-Gai." Hinata said, happy and yet shy.

"Just got back today. Thought you guys would like to meet your new partner."

"Our new partner?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the happy girl.

"Yeah, she was an extra over at sand, and since you guys…" Kiba trailed off. "Anyway, I-We, Shino and I, can't wait to have you back, Hinata. The Hokage wants you to switch as soon as possible."

"I should at least finish the mission I am on, right?" Hinata asked worriedly.

Kiba sighed, obviously sad. "Yeah, I guess, at least get to know her." Kiba grabbed the arm of the girl and pushed her in front of him. "Utua, (_**because I know no other Japanese names**_) meet Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata. And…"

Kiba trailed off again, finally noticing Gaara and Sakura right behind the group.

Naruto grinned widely, Gaara could sense something was wrong. "Kiba…You remember that _project_ all the Chounin are doing? Didn't you guys get assigned the Police Ninja?"

Shino decided to play along, vaguely remembering Naruto talking about his latest mission. "Yes, the Police Ninja have a…interesting outlook."

"Talk to you guys later." Sasuke said, scowling and giving Kiba the-look.

Gaara and Sakura were forced to follow, and soon the three shinobi had led the demon-vessels into a store with tons of clothes.

"Y-you c-can t-t-try on what-e-ever you w-would like t-t-to." Hinata said, pointing to the different clothes racks.

Before either knew what had happened, Gaara and Sakura were in dressing rooms right next to each other, putting on and taking off the clothes thrust at them. Sakura tried on a matter of different things, between skirts, tank-tops, dresses, pants, and regular Ts. Gaara didn't find anything to his preference and stayed in the clothes he was in.

Finally, Sakura found something that interested her. A long free moving skirt with tears on either side adorned Sakura's waste, covering the thin pair of pants Sakura had on underneath. It was put with a spaghetti-strap tank that seemed to flow right off her curves, like water. It was accented with a simple black head-band.

Next, Gaara and Sakura were taken to other stores, some with more clothes, others with room accessories, others with even weirder things. Eventually, they ended up at Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto on his twentieth bowl.

Gaara looked over at Sakura, who still hadn't touched her Ramen. She hadn't even bothered to try the noodles, just attempted to not even look at it. Sakura wasn't enjoying any of it.

Because of Inner Sakura, Sakura could barely eat, with the feeling of puking constantly nagging at her. Sakura knew that she would eventually faint from lack of nutrition, the real question was just when.

Gaara dug into his pocket and found the crackers he had stored there. He tossed them over to Sakura, who caught them without even looking, and brought them into eye-view. When she noticed what they were, Sakura turned to look at Gaara. He mouthed a go-ahead, and she began to nibble at them.

They continued to just walk through the village, trailing behind the three shinobi. Gaara soon noticed Shizune and Kakashi lower their guards too as they became engulfed in some conversation about a certain orange book gone movie. (_**Yea, Shizune reads Icha Icha Paradise, surprisingly, girls like those kinds of things too.**_) Soon, Shizune and Kakashi were giggling and laughing.

Further up ahead, Hinata had spotted the most gorgeous necklace. Sakura took one look at it and looked away, she wasn't a fan of jewelry.

"It is soo beautiful!" Hinata said quietly in an almost whisper.

Naruto happened to be standing next to her when she said it. "What do you like about it?"

"Moonstone!" Hinata breathed, stretching out a tentative finger to stroke the center stone.

"It suits you." Sasuke stated, as if it were fact.

"Yeah," Hinata sighed, turning away and walking back over to Sasuke.

Gaara noticed the words Sasuke mouthed to her. 'Go ahead!'

"Uhh…" Naruto paused to think of something before continuing. "Lady Tsunade asked me to pick something up for her, and the store is like, just over there, catch up with you in a bit."

And with that, Naruto disappeared. Hinata stared after him, eyes rooted to the spot he had vanished. She turned to give Sasuke an inquisitive look; he just shrugged his shoulders and moved on.

They were about to turn into a little pottery shop when noises were heard further up the street. They all turned in alarm as a cart led by pack-animals came toward them, a man trying to rein them in.

People moved out of the way in desperation, trying not to get caught by the rampant horses. A woman screamed from next to Sakura. "NO!"

Sakura followed her gaze and saw why she screamed. A little girl clutching a rag doll was rooted to her spot in fear, watching the cart come closer. Sakura moved without thinking and grabbed the little girl, knocking over several people in the process, and threw her out of the way. The girl was caught by some person.

Sakura turned slowly, now occupying the girl's spot, and turned toward the donkey. She slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a vial of blood, one she had secretly grabbed before they left the hospital from a storage of blood she had been keeping in a planted pot near the entrance to the hospital. She uncapped it and began to wield the blood.

One stream there, another there, Gaara watched in fascination as the blood followed Sakura's finger movements, going exactly where she wanted, until a net was in front of her. The horses ran straight into it, and with some fighting, soon calmed down. With the impact, the man went flying, right over the net, and into a stall with glass-vases for sale.

The crash sent Sakura spinning in panic. The man, he had glass sticking out of him, with many beads of blood running down his body. Wielding blood Sakura was familiar with was enough strain, but this new blood sent Sakura over the edge.

_Blood, I want blood! This blood is useless, lifeless, I want _his_ blood!_

Sakura fell to her knees, clutching her head, attempting to make the voice stop. "I won't let you!" She screamed.

Gaara's eyes were torn from the man as he heard Sakura scream. That was when Shukaku started in.

**Things are going to get fun! Boy!**

Gaara winced. 'No, you can't have it. Don't you dare!'

**As if you could stop me if I really tried.**

_I want the blood, let me have the blood! Let me touch the blood!_

A hand touched Sakura's shoulder; this time, Gaara wasn't there to stop Sakura. She shot her fist out and slammed it into the short person, sending them flying into a wall. Sakura opened her eyes to see.

It was the girl, the one Sakura had just saved from the cart. She had blood coming from her mouth. Sakura's emotions reached a high-point.

Gaara couldn't take his eyes of Sakura, especially after she hit the kid. She blinked once, and her eyes were different, turning from sparkling green to shimmering purple irises with jet black pupils.

Gaara's body was suddenly racked by spasms, forcing him to the ground in a twitching state. Gaara could feel his eyes change from their bluish state to the golden one with a black diamond for a pupil, four smaller diamonds spaced out around the pupil in the iris.

The demons had taken control.

(_**And this is where the real fun begins! GO ME!)**_

Shizune and Kakashi immediately pressed the emergency beacons around their necks, alerting local ninja to the situation. Three ninja's appeared at once, one with flaming red hair, one with black, and a girl with blonde hair. (_**Oh crap, I accidentally just described all of Team Asuma. Ok, the black and blonde are indeed Ino and Shikamaru, but this other person is not.**_**)**

Kakashi jumped to where the three were standing, nodding at Ino and Shikamaru. The other one, the red-head, was a Juunin, Kakashi knew him. "Be careful." Was all Kakashi said as they rushed the two demons.

Shukaku raised his hand and trapped the red-head in sand, only to have the replacement technique performed. Shukaku scanned the surrounding area, searching. No sign.

"Katon Housenka (Fire-type: Mythical fire Flower)"

Shukaku looked upward and found fireballs raining down on him. With quick movements, sand-balls matching the size of the fire ones extinguished them. Turning around, Shukaku raised his hand again. "Sabaku Kyuu (Dessert Coffin)." Sand encased the fire-using ninja.

Shukaku grunted as five sharp objects buried themselves into his back. Kunai? Shukaku screeched in anger. He had let that stupid shinobi use the fireballs as good shuriken shadow hiding places. But these wouldn't stop him.

"Subaku SouS- (Desert Fune-)" Shukaku couldn't finish his sentence as he felt something invade his mind and something else restrict his movements. Shukaku was forced to turn around and view his captors.

A girl with long bangs brushed to the side and an even longer ponytail was smirking, her fingers shaping her Shintenshin No Jutsu (Mind-Body Switch Technique). A second later, she fell over on top of the one next to her. The boy kneeling beside her and catching the blonde, his black hair tied into a pineapple shaped thing, also had a hand-symbol, showing his KageMane No Jutsu (Shadow Immitation Technique). He mumbled something about troublesome demons.

Shukaku smirked; did these pathetic ninja expect this would hold him? First, get rid of the one in his head. The girl was trying to control his actions, his thoughts, and it wasn't working. She couldn't grasp anything. Shukaku sent her a great mental blow, pushing her right back into her own body.

Shukaku squeezed his fists, defying the technique, and screeched, letting his roar shake a couple stalls. He fought against the jutsu, and then, the tables turned. Shukaku straightened his body and lifted his arms, forcing Shikamaru to do the same. Shikamaru frowned, showing his surprise. What was going on?

"Shikamaru, end the technique!" Ino shouted, trying to gain control of Shukaku's body. Why hadn't her technique worked? Nobody had ever done that before.

"Ino, I can't break it." Shikamaru said, his bored tone gone. This meant Shikamaru was actually worried. "It is like he has suddenly taken control of my technique."

"Katon Ryuuka no Jutsu (Fire-Type Dragon Fire Skill)." The previously sand-trapped ninja shouted, standing opposite of Ino and Shikamaru. Streams of fire erupted from his mouth, breaking Shukaku's concentration.

Shukaku released Shikamaru as something extremely hot burned his back. He could feel his skin begin to burn like paper. Shukaku spun around again and this time finished his Desert Coffin, relishing in the raining blood.

Ino and Shikamaru both gagged as they became covered in blood. With one swift movement, Shukaku pushed Ino and Shikamaru out of the way and gripped a random man into his Desert Funeral, giving way to more blood.

_**(Time to jump back about ten minutes to where Sakura is now battling with ninjas and herself. Now, to clarify one thing, the demon is in full control of Sakura's body, so when I refer to Sakura, I am referring to the demon, (since we still don't know which demon is in control of Sakura), and when I go into Italicize, it means the real Sakura is speaking, and not the demon. Understand? I know, totally confusing, but deal with it.)**_

Sakura felt her demon take over as she inwardly screamed. _I killed a child! I killed a child! Somebody KILL ME!_

'If you die, I die.' Inner Sakura sneered, relishing in the complete control of Sakura's body. 'Let me take care of everything.'

Inner Sakura picked up the blood on the ground as if it were solid and formed it into a thin wire. She also took out every needle Sakura had on her and injected them into her arms, forcing them into her blood veins. The blood was made to push the needles along the veins until they came to the fingers.

_Make the pain stop!_ Sakura screamed as the needles began to push through her fingertips, coming out just below the fingernails.

"Now why didn't we do this a long time ago?" the demon asked.

Sakura whirled around as she felt the presence of four ninjas. (_**I will be sure not to make these ones look like Chouji**_) Two boys, two girls. One had silvery-hair and she carried larger than average, but not too large, fans in either hand, her hair was tied back in braids. The second female shinobi had raven-black hair, like Sasuke's, and it shimmered around her body in cascading folds. One man was wearing a green jumpsuit with orange leg-warmers (_**GO GAI-SENSEI!**_) and was grinning wildly, his fuzzy eyebrows moving like big thick hairy caterpillars. The last one had blonde hair that looked almost like gold, and his headband was different from the others.

The fuzzy-brows dude jumped down and advanced on Sakura, his grinning never fading. Looking as if he were about to punch her, the man suddenly brought his leg up to kick Sakura in the stomach. She jumped up, barely missing the kick with her legs, and kneeled to the ground, using her hands to spin herself. Legs collided, but Gai held firm. He spun, aiming another kick, this time at Sakura's head.

Sakura blocked the blow with her own kick and took a step back as a hand tried to punch her. Sakura reacted with another kick, instantly falling into a flip as her kick was dodged, and used her hands to get close to Gai. Gai, taking advantage of Sakura being on her hands, he lunged for her. Sakura spun on her hands and parlayed his attacks. They exchanged a few more blows before Sakura suddenly righted herself and punched Gai's stomach, catching him completely off guard.

Gai bounced back faster than Sakura had anticipated and punched her square in the jaw. Sakura flew backwards, caught herself on her hands, and landed, kneeling on the ground. Gai was still smiling, as if all of this was just a game. What was he so happy about?

Sakura commanded her blood to push her needles out a little farther. Hissing, Sakura ran. She bypassed Gai's defense kick, ducked under his hands, and plunged her hands into his middle.

"Konoha Senpuu (Leaf Spinning Wind)" Sakura was kicked into the air, leaving her vulnerable. Gai used the split seconds he had to punch and kick her in several places, sending her crashing into a stall. Luckily, the stall was selling blankets and fine-embroidered pillows."

Sakura bolted for Gai again, bypassing every defense, again, and using her rope of blood, grabbed his neck. She squeezed as his breaths became labored, and then he started wheezing, clutching at her hands with his diminishing strength.

Sakura's vision began to swim and everything changed. She was no longer in the street with destroyed stalls, but instead a never ending grass field with a never ending sky. Sakura looked around her. There was no wind, which concluded one thing. Genjutsu.

One of the female shinobi appeared before Sakura, her eyes serene and calm, her beautiful long hair falling and rising to an un-feel-able wind. Sakura blinked several times, commanding her eyes. She began to see shadows, and people that shouldn't be there in that grassy serene world.

Sakura saw a shadow of the ninja before her, inching closer and closer to her, hesitant and unsure. Sakura kept her eyes on the shinobi before her, the one that wasn't real, while keeping check on the one that kept coming closer. When she was close enough, Sakura struck.

One swipe across the face, another across the back of the head, and the last right through her back, needles puncturing bones. The genjutsu, now broken, receded, making everything disappear and the shadows become solid. The long-haired ninja fell to the ground, dead.

Sakura brought the bloody needles up to her mouth and began to lick them clean, like a cat, relishing in the taste of the blood, the taste of the life she had just taken. Blood was life!

The silver-haired Konochi raised her two fans and jumped, soaring through the air. Still several feet above the ground, she made her move. "Kamaitachi No Jutsu (Slashing Wind Technique)!" The girl folded her arms across her chest and then uncrossed them, her fans sending huge waves of wind toward Sakura.

Sakura allowed the wind to hit her, could feel the gusts tear her skin in several places. One slash across the right cheek, one across the chest, and a continuous cut going across both legs, upper thigh on one leg, knee on the other.

_Oh Kami! I am BLEEDING! That is my BLOOD! Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!_ Sakura began to mentally sob while blood trickled down her entire body.

On the outside, Sakura smiled. The other ninja landed with a surprised look on her face. "That should have been enough to tear you apart."

Sakura smirked and raised her hands in a fighting position, fixing her stance. "I am a demon."

The female's eyes widened considerably. "Kaze no Yaiba! (Blade of Wind!)" Even finer slices of wind targeted Sakura, and they were so fast she could barely see them.

This attack was more powerful than that last, and if allowed to hit the demon, would probably cause serious injuries. Sakura twisted her body and leaned backwards, far enough to see what was behind her, effectively dodging the wind.

Sakura took two steps forward and was forced to dodge again. She continued to come forward, until she could jump. Up she soared, rotating her body just enough to be upside down, and then she made her move. Adjusting her hands so they were on either side of the ninja's head, Sakura swept them right through the shinobi's neck.

It was all to fast for the wind-user to even begin to register what was happening, she didn't even feel pain as her head was torn from her neck. Sakura caught the head, silvery hair tangling with her fingers. Blood was pouring from the still twitching body, and the splatter from the initial attack was all over Sakura's front, mainly her upper body.

"Guess this means I will have to step up." The blonde said, jumping gracefully from his perch on the roof. "But beware, I am a high-level ninja from the Country of Water."

So, that was why his headband was different from the others. Sakura only smirked, she knew what to expect from this shinobi.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu! (Hidden Mist Technique)" Sakura was barely affected as the mist rolled in like waves, dulling every sense Sakura had. She adjusted her eyes again, making it easier to see through the mist. The other ninja could see through the mist, of that Sakura was certain, and now she could partly see through it.

Sakura detected the smallest hint of movement to the far left corner, but didn't turn. The water-user was messing with her. "Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Replication Technique)!"

Sakura smirked, was this guy an idiot?

"Oboro Bunshin no Jutsu! (Mist Clone Technique!)"

Apparently not as dumb as originally thought. Using two different kinds of clones will make it harder to discern which ones are the harmful ones and which are useless. But to Sakura, none of it mattered. Mist clones couldn't attack and disappear when hit, water clones only have a tenth of the strength the original has, unlike shadow clones, and the blonde has to be near them in order to use them.

Two appeared, falling from the sky, trying to capture Sakura. She rose up her hands and they landed on the needles, instantly turning into a puff of smoke. They came in hundreds, lunging, jumping, and diving for Sakura. Using her intense sight power, Sakura could barely tell which were which, and it was extremely hard to tell the difference. But, Sakura allowed a few of the mist to go right through her, giving her time to hit the others.

A little out of Sakura's sight, the other ninja waited, watching. The 'demon' had been lucky so far, when she missed spotting a couple of his clones, they all happened to be mist ones. Yes, any moment she would fall victim to one of the real ones.

But wouldn't it be more satisfying to finish this girl off with his own hands? His thoughts were interrupted as it began to rain blood. It must be the other demon. Had he defeated the other ninja? Gai had been so careful about forcing this girl far away from the other demon in a different part of the market, and so had the Genjutsu user, making it harder for the second one to find the girl. Apparently, he had found them, and he was still killing people.

He had to end this, and soon.

Sakura paused for a second when blood began to rain down upon her, but she kind of liked it. She immediately noticed when the real shinobi mixed in with his clones, she could feel the chakra radiating off his body. When he came close, Sakura slashed at his chest. The wounds spurted blood, drenching Sakura even more.

The blonde faltered and performed a seal. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu (Water Type-Water Dragon Blast Skill)!"

A dragon made entirely of water rose up from the ninja and made a strike for Sakura. She jumped back and it lunged again. Sakura barely dodged its attacks, coming so close to being water-food.

And then it caught her, trapping her in its jaws. Sakura felt as if huge currants of water were pulling her in a million different directions, as if she would scatter like sand in wind.

Sakura began to build up chakra within herself, slowly. It was hard to concentrate with herself being whirled in different directions, her oxygen slowly depleting. When she had a suitable amount, Sakura dispelled it from her body, causing every organ within her to ache with the stress.

The chakra disrupted the flow of the dragon, tearing it apart, and also rendered the shinobi's chakra points useless. Sakura began to fall from high above, where the dragon had been happily munching her.

Twisting her body, Sakura turned to meet the ground with her front. She positioned herself in a crouching position, her 'claws' raised. Sakura landed, something beneath her. Looking down with a smile, Sakura saw the water-user, her needles puncturing both heart and lungs. The mist began to clear, and everybody could see everything.

_LIFE!_ The demon said, pushing Sakura to the front of the mind, releasing everything to her.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

**I have had my fun.** Shukaku stated, giving Gaara full control of the body.

Gaara sagged with exhaustion. He had killed twenty people, all male. He was coated in blood, as if it was his actual skin, and he was dead tired. Gaara lifted his head, looking to see where he was. Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto rounded the corner in alarm, stopping in their tracks to take in the entire scene. Shizune and Kakashi were on the roof, completely at a loss of what to do.

Gaara spotted Sakura five yards in front of him. She was on top of a male, her fingers digging into his chest. What had happened?

Without warning, Sakura tipped over. Gaara rushed towards her, not really sure what he was doing. He caught her before she could hit her head. Sakura was mumbling, and her still needled hand gripped Gaara's leg painfully.

"I killed her, I killed a child, how could I? Why would I? Why did I kill her? I didn't want to kill her? She was just a child, so helpless, compared to me, a monster, so powerful…" Sakura continued on, oblivious to her surroundings, until she fell asleep, never relinquishing her painful grip on Gaara's leg.

Gaara didn't move when kunai and shuriken were pressed to every part of his body, daring him to make a move. The only thing he made sure of was that Sakura stayed exactly where she was.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Gaara's mind-power isn't as strong as Tsunade thought." Kakashi stated. For once, he wasn't reading his book.

Shizune nodded sadly. "The most awful part about this all is that they have no control. The demons are too much for them."

"Things can only get better from here, can't they?"

"I don't know." Shizune whispered, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I don't know."

(_**And I am done with this chapter, booyah! I have to say, that first part was a real struggle, so BORING! But once I got to the fighting part, boy was I on a roll. To think I have never been a fight scene person, too. This is definitely one of my best fight scenes, and most definitely my longest one. Was that enough blood for you DarkLilly? Anyway, please review, criticism would be nice. Anything about the chapter you didn't like? Punctuation, plot, character, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, names? Anything? Until Next Time!**_

_**Yours truly, **_

_**Annabelinda.**_

_**P.S. I have no idea when chapter seven will be out, finals are this week and I have so many late assignments to turn in it is pathetic, but I know what will happen. Tsunade learns more information on Gaara and we finally get to see Sakura's demon! AND! The chapter title will be RAIN! Also, the winner of my little contest will be announced, three people guessed correctly, but which one guessed first? I am oh so evil!**_)


	7. Rain

_**Ahh crap, you won't believe what I just freaking did! I read my info wrong, which means I had the strengths of my demons backwards! Argh, this is too frustrating. Turns out, Shukaku is one of the weakest demons, since he comes in eighth for strength and ninth for chakra and stamina. Nekomata comes in fourth for strength and like eighth for chakra and stamina, Sokou is ninth in strength and sixth in stamina/chakra, Yamata is second in both, and Kyuubi, of course, is the strongest in everything! Man, I feel like a piece of (refrains from swearing).**_

_**Oh well, it is three thirty in the morning, I just finished watching my favorite Hinata/Kiba youtube vid, I have to take two math point five math tests tomorrow, and I am in the mood for writing. So watch out story, cause I am in a rambling mood, which means I will be adding who the chara knows what to this thing.**_

_**Until the end,**_

_**Annabelinda**_

Chapter Seven Rain

Sakura examined her fingers, alone in her room. Memories of the battle had slowly made their way from her demon to her, and Sakura couldn't believe what she had done. She killed three shinobi, and a little girl. It was all too much.

But, her fingers interested Sakura more. She retracted them back into her fingers and then protruded them out, using her own blood to move the needles back and forth. They scared Sakura like she couldn't believe, and yet she refused to remove them. In fact, nobody but Gaara knew she even had them. They would hide perfectly under fingernails until she needed to use them, no more finagling with skin and things for Sakura.

And yet as much as Sakura feared them, she was utterly fascinated with them. They were so simple, and yet could cause so much damage. They were truly amazing.

Shizune opened the door to find Sakura examining her hand. Shizune sighed, the tapes showed almost nothing but Sakura studying her hand, as if it would transform before her or something.

"It is time for your meeting with Tsunade." Shizune said, attempting to smile. "She says she has important information."

Mechanically, Sakura rose from her bed, never taking her eyes from her hand, and followed Shizune out. Gaara and Kakashi were waiting in the hallway.

As they walked, Gaara watched Sakura study her hand. That was all she did, and sleep. Of course, that is only if you can call two hours before waking up screaming sleep, but it wasn't as if Gaara knew. He could see the black circles begin to form around her eyes, but they were nowhere near as clear to see as Gaara's.

She really did wake up screaming each night after two hours of sleep, clutching Gaara's arm as if it were a life preserver or something like that. She would sit up in bed, shuddering, as her screams died down, and then fall back onto her pillow, never relinquishing his arm, and mumble to herself. It was always about some kid, a little girl with a rag-doll in her hand.

Gaara didn't even try to understand.

They walked into the room, and Gaara thanked the heavens that it was a Thursday; the ninja team had visited the day before. Gaara had noticed that when Sasuke was in the room, Sakura kind of changed. Her eyes would flash for purple for only a second, and then she would begin to smile at Sasuke, sometimes moving in ways that made Gaara uncomfortable to even be in the same room, although he wasn't quite sure why.

The real reason Gaara worried was because, after the shinobi left, Sakura would always seem disgusted with herself, and then proceed to puke in the nearest container available. She never puked around the ninja, but always when they weren't there, especially when Gaara was around, and yet she insisted on staying near him.

To be perfectly honest, Gaara was beyond confused, he was clueless.

Gaara perched on his window ledge, dangling one leg over it while bringing the other one up to rest his head as he starred out the window. Sakura paused at the door, seeming extremely unsure. Instead of going to her corner, she walked over to Gaara. She nodded to him and sat down, underneath him, her back resting against the wall beneath the ledge, her hand gripping Gaara's ankle.

In order to get to his ankle, Sakura had to place her hand underneath his jean leg, since Tsunade had allowed the two containers to wear whatever kind of clothing they liked. Gaara stiffened as Sakura's freezing hand touched his burning ankle, but didn't make a move to pull away or anything.

Sakura had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling, as if something terrible were about to happen.

Tsunade walked in, her face serious, gripping her file-folders just a little too tightly. She sat down in her chair stiffly and turned to the two of them. Surprise showed in her face for a second as she saw their positions, or more importantly, Sakura's position, before returning to unhappy stone.

"I have found out more information about the two of you." Tsunade said.

Sakura's stomach wanted to vomit out of nervousness. Tsunade didn't have good news.

"As you know, Gaara, your demon is the one-tailed demon Shukaku, one of the weaker demons. I recently found out who had possession of Shukaku before it was placed in you."

"Shukaku isn't an it." Gaara said calmly, keeping his eyes trained on the window. "He is a male."

"Anyway, I recently found out who had possession of him before you did. There is a village in the Country of the Dessert called Suna, and they had contained Shukaku within a non-living object. Because he is weaker, this was suitable, and it was a lot easier than placing him in a human-vessel.

"However, the Kazekage of Suna suddenly had the _brilliant_ idea of molding the demon with an actual living container, not sealing him within you, but molding him with you while you were still in the womb. This would, in theory, result in the ultimate weapon, and perfect to Suna.

"But, from what I have been able to gather, something went wrong. The little boy was out of control and couldn't contain the demon from breaking out. The only good news was that, because Shukaku was molded with the boy, he couldn't actually break free into his true form, unless the boy happened to fall asleep.

"Then, one night, the boy vanished, along with his two siblings. Two days later, the siblings returned with the story of being sent on a mission by an elder who happened to die right after they left. Nobody knows what happened to the boy, until now.

"Ton-ton's description of you 'aunt' and 'uncle' matched the pictures of these two shinobi." Tsunade placed two pictures onto the table.

Gaara's sand tenderly picked up the pictures and brought them over to him. He glanced at the pictures, taking in the two shinobi. One had blonde pig-tails, four of them, and wore a purple kimono, a giant fan holstered to her back. The second one had dark hair, face paint, and some sort of mummy taped to his back.

The sand returned the pictures to Tsunade.

"I am positive that you are the boy, Gaara. The boy disappeared at the exact age you were when you were admitted; you match the description perfectly…" Tsunade trailed off.

Sakura looked up, examining Gaara's face. His main features showed no emotion, but a blank stone wall, which told Sakura something was wrong. Gaara only looked that way when in deep thought. Otherwise who wore an I-don't-care look that could often be mistaken for blank, unless you knew his eyes.

"As for you, Sakura…"

Sakura's head whipped around to look at Tsunade. Tsunade knew something about her?"

"I have finally discovered your demon, and it sure did take me long enough. Your characteristics are strange ones, but after determining which demons are where and which are unknown, I was able to make one final conclusion. Your demon goes by the name-"

Sakura's stomach did a back flip and doubled over as a small amount of yellow liquid came from Sakura's mouth.

"Nekomata."

And again, and again, until Sakura was gagging without anything coming up, a dry vomit. Obviously, inner Sakura didn't like people knowing her true name.

_How did she find me?_

Sakura asked the question. "It was simple, really." Tsunade replied. "Every other demon has been classified, and their whereabouts known, whether they are in containers or objects, except for Nekomata. Nobody knew where she/he was. Not to mention, you fit the description quite well, Sakura. Your love of the dark, your fascination and lust for blood, the way you act when a certain person is in the room, where you get all flirtatious and seductive."

"I have absolutely no idea what those last words are." Sakura said before covering her mouth and gagging again.

"This means that both of yours training will have to change. " Tsunade continued, ignoring Sakura's words. "Gaara, you will need to meditate more and more, and become mentally stable. Although Shukaku isn't a strong demon, he is mixed with you, and therefore has a great deal of influence and power over you. Sakura, you will need rigorous training in several different methods, between tolerating physical pain to tolerating mental attacks, in order to hold back Nekomata."

Sakura clutched Gaara's ankle tighter as more severe gags tore through her body, trying to make her vomit her organs. When the moment passed, she rested her head against Gaara's leg. She looked up at him, smiling as he met her eyes.

"You have such beautiful eyes." She murmured giddily, proceeding to pass out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o (Pass the boring part of where Gaara's sand catches Sakura before she hits the ground and then they end up in their rooms, blah blah blah.)

Sakura jerked awake when she heard a loud clash, followed by a flash of light and another clash. She immediately tore the IV out of her wrist and went over to the window, pulling back the pitch-black shades.

The sky was dark, no sun, with grey and black clouds making it look dark and cold. What was this? It happened again, the brief flash of light, like somebody just swiped their sword, trailing a blade made of light, and the air cackled with electricity currants. Then the sound came, roaring in Sakura's ears.

"It is called a thunderstorm." Gaara's voice said from behind Sakura.

"Thunderstorm?"

"Which village were you raised in?" he asked her.

"The weather never looked like this. It was always so sunny, but not too sunny, like a tropical area." Sakura replied, watching the lightning with great fascination.

And then, the sky began to cry.

"Why is it crying?" Sakura asked Gaara.

"Who really knows." He shrugged, "But the sky tears feel good against the skin."

Sakura turned toward him, trying to imagine having sky tears on her. "What would that feel like?"

Gaara held out his hand. Sakura knew he wanted her to take it, but she didn't know if she should. "I can show you," he said, "If you want."

Sakura gingerly touched his palm with her fingers, waiting before grasping it. As soon as Gaara had his larger hand around hers, he pulled her close, wrapping an arm around her waist, and he closed his eyes.

Sakura felt the weirdest sensation go through her body, as if she were dissolving, and then, suddenly, she was being confronted by a rough wind, and something wet kept touching her hair. Sakura felt her stomach heave, but was so amazed at everything around her, she could easily ignore it.

Gaara released her and stepped back. They were on the roof of the building, and the rain was still sprinkling. Sakura held out her hand, liking the feeling when two of the sky tears landed in her palm. She smiled and looked upwards, just as another bolt of lightning was followed by a roar of thunder.

The rain started coming down harder and faster, and soon the sky tears were rolling off Gaara and Sakura's skin, soaking their clothes. Sakura's shoulder length hair soon became plastered to her face, but she continued to smile, blinking away the drops that made contact with her eyes.

"This is so amazing!" she said softly, but loud enough for Gaara to hear. She shivered as the rain started coming down even harder.

Soon, it was hard to see a few feet ahead of you. Gaara walked over to Sakura and placed his hand on her shoulder, making sure she didn't get lost or accidentally walk off the roof. She didn't react to his touch, just continued to feel the rain.

"Aren't cats supposed to hate water?" Gaara asked.

"I think so." She replied, closing her eyes and sighing, "But this feels so amazing."

"You know, now that I think about it, I can't sense my demon." Sakura said, opening her eyes suddenly. "Ever since we came out here, she has been hiding in the deepest recesses of my head."

"Why aren't you calling her by her name?"

"It just seems weird, to suddenly have a name for something that has always been nameless."

"Everything needs identity."

Sakura shivered, the cold was starting to get to her. "You know, I think my body is naturally cold."

"Compared to me, you are a freezer." Gaara said plainly, stating fact.

Sakura covered the hand on her shoulder with her own, enjoying the warmth. Without warning, she stepped backwards, pressing close to Gaara. "You are so warm." She murmured.

Sakura was cold? Well, if she became sick, it would provide her demon a chance to escape. Gaara wrapped his arms around her, bringing her close to his extreme body heat.

Sakura smiled, the feeling of warmth and wetness surrounding her, making her skin tingle pleasantly. She leaned back even further, closing her eyes.

Gaara breathed in her scent; he wasn't surprised to find she smelled like Cherry Blossoms, not surprised at all. She snuggled up against him, enjoying his warmth. Something in Gaara's stomach squirmed as she came even closer.

"Why do _you_ think the sky cries?" Sakura asked, her breath turning to mist and being dispersed by the rain.

"Doesn't everything cry?" Gaara asked, "Everybody has a moment of grief."

"What does the sky grieve for?"

"What do you grieve for?"

Sakura bit on her lip. "I grieve for the people I have killed in Nekomata's name. What about you?"

"I grieve for what I will never have."

"What will you never have?" Sakura asked, surprised by his response.

"Somebody like me can never have love." Gaara told her, placing his chin on her wet head. "Nobody will ever want to get close to me, because of Shukaku."

"For some reason, I don't think that is true."

"Is there something you will never have?"

Sakura nodded, bumping into his chin. "How can I ever achieve peace?" she asked him, "Especially when I have this bloody-thirsty demon within me? My mind, my body, my soul, they shall never hold peace within them."

"Don't be so sure."

"So then, what does the sky long for?"

Gaara smirked. Of course Sakura would bring the conversation back to that. "I think it grieves for the sun."

Sakura seemed to accept that answer, for she fell silent, enveloped in the feeling of the rain and Gaara's warmth.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o (_**because everything in between this and the next part is just boring. Don't worry, I didn't skip a kissing scene or anything, those are just so fun to write!)**_

Sakura was listening to the rain while starring out her window the very next day. She wanted to feel the rain again. The entire time she was with Gaara on the roof, Inner Sakura (Nekomata) had stayed in the recesses of her mind, completely silent. But, because of them leaving their rooms, Tsunade had confined them to their rooms, with some dire threats of leaving. Of course, Tsunade was also training Gaara at the moment, leaving Sakura alone in her room to listen to the rain outside.

Sakura turned when somebody knocked on her door, assuming it would be Shizune. Shizune was, after all, the only person to come to Sakura's room. When the person behind the door was actually a black-spiky-haired boy, Sakura didn't know what to do.

Sasuke carefully opened the door, weary of the girl within. Stupid Tsunade and her stupid experiments.

"_Sakura, for some reason, is pushed aside by her demon whenever you are around. You have seen the purple eyes." Tsunade said, tossing her folder to the table._

_Sasuke nodded, not quite sure where Tsunade was going with this._

"_Well, I want to try something. I think Nekomata has marked you, for some reason. Obviously she would rather have you than a fellow demon, so it is all very strange. I want you to get closer to Sakura."_

And so here he was, Uchiha Sasuke, walking into the room of a demon. She just looked at him, confusion written across her face. The girl then turned back to her window, watching the rain, pretending he wasn't there.

On the inside, Sakura was cursing. Nekomata had just stopped playing with Sakura's stomach, making her feel…good. The weirdest thing, though, was why Sasuke was here. He never came anywhere near Gaara and/or her without Naruto and/or Hinata.

She heard the Uchiha sit down on her bed, and she could tell that he was studying the different paintings on the walls.

"Is that blood?" He asked, disgusted.

"Yep." Sakura replied, not taking her eyes away from the window.

"Where do you get the blood?"

"It comes to me."

Silence.

One minute…two…three…four…and it went on, the time beginning to stretch, until Sakura couldn't take it anymore.

"What are you doing here? And without backup?"

"Dobe doesn't make very good background, and Hinata would prefer to stay with the dobe, or Naruto."

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked again.

"I came to talk to you."

Sakura went over to her bed and sat down on the floor, leaning up against the bed frame. She looked over at Sasuke, who had his eyes glued to the walls, fascinated by her depictions.

_Just look at him!_ Nekomata purred, _You can see his abs through his shirt. Go on, smile!_

Despite herself, Sakura found herself smiling. It was a small smile, nothing special, but he saw it anyways.

"Why do you like blood?" he asked, his tone serious.

Sakura gagged slightly. "It isn't me who likes blood, it is Nekomata. I hate blood."

"Then why don't you defy her?" Sasuke asked, curious.

Sakura sighed sarcastically. "You try going up against a stupid demon! She has the power to take over my mind."

As if to exemplify her power, Nekomata flashed Sakura's eyes purple for a couple seconds. Sakura turned back to Sasuke, smiling. She actually looked kind of cute. "So, seriously, what brings you here?"

"I seriously just wanted to talk." Sasuke replied, putting up his bored attitude.

"Fine, then talk, cause I ain't doing it." (_**Yeah, Sakura just used bad grammar.**_)

"Fine, I am the number one rookie ninja in Konoha, and the strongest on my team." Sasuke said, giving her the conversation she wanted. "I am an orphan. My dream is to kill my brother. I hate demons."

Sakura's eyes softened as she looked up at him. "Well, we share a lot in common then, don't we? As far as I know, I have no parents, I am completely alone, and I absolutely hate demons."

Sasuke snorted. "I will never be like you."

Sakura smiled, border-lining a smirk.

They continued on in silence, and for once, Sakura didn't seem to mind. She was too focused on Nekomata's ranting. _Just look at that face! He has the characteristics of a very handsome man, and his power is even more alluring than Kyuubi, who I once seduced._ Sakura mentally gagged at the news. _And can you feel that power rolling off his body? Ah yes, the power, it comes from Yamata no Orochi, probably from one of his stupid deals. Yes, this boy is the one for me._

Sakura felt something slowly take over her mind. It wasn't like a full blown takeover, but as if something were influencing her actions. Sakura had absolutely no idea what she was doing, other than the fact that she was flirting.

Sasuke tolerated it for a few minutes before getting up and heading for the door. Nekomata backed off, and Sakura said a thought out loud, forgetting about Sasuke. "I wish I was in the rain."

Sasuke looked back at her, noticing her eyes had returned to green. "Why?"

"Nekomata doesn't like the rain." Sakura replied, looking at the window lustfully.

"Come on then." Sasuke said, beckoning toward her.

Sakura's head snapped while it turned. "What?"

"I said come on; don't make me repeat myself again."

Cautiously, Sakura stood up, and followed Sasuke out of the room. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's wrist and encased a metal ring around it, and then did the same for his wrist. Flowing between the two rings was a cord of chakra. Sasuke led the way to one of the hospitals many courtyards.

Sakura closed her eyes as soon as the rain hit her face, lips curving into a happy and content smile. Sasuke watched her as she dragged him into the rain. She loved it all, between the droplets in her hair to the rain running down her skin, soaking her clothes through and through. Sasuke couldn't take his eyes off of her as she began to spin, forcing him to move with her.

Why did she like the rain so much? It was wet, and cold, and made one feel more miserable than they were. And yet, this girl, a vessel of a blood-hungry demon, liked the rain? Well, nobody ever said the world made sense, right?

Sasuke began to scowl as his clothes became drenched, soaking him through and through. "You almost done?"

Sakura turned to him, her happy smile fading. "I don't want to be."

And Sasuke fell. It was that one look, and her eyes said it all. She was happy out here, without Nekomata, and she looked so innocent, so…peaceful. Sakura peeled off her white shirt, revealing the pink tank-top she had underneath.

Sasuke's eyes fell upon the kenji scar located just above her cleavage. Peace? Who would carve peace into this girl? Was it somebody who detested what Sakura had done to them or their family?

Sakura noticed what Sasuke was looking at. "Didn't you say your greatest desire was to kill your brother?" she asked.

Sasuke nodded.

"My greatest desire is peace!" And with that, Sakura did another twirling motion in the rain, dragging Sasuke along with her. "It really is peaceful out here."

Unbeknownst to the two in the courtyard, Gaara watched them from his perch at his window. Sakura was dancing in the rain, towing behind an unhappy Uchiha about it. Why did Gaara feel mad?

**Are you going to let that shinobi take her from you?** Shukaku asked angrily.

'What am I supposed to do?' Gaara asked, ignoring whatever Tsunade was droning on about. She was trying to teach him the clone technique.

**Fight for her! Show her she belongs with us!**

'You want to go against Nekomata? As I remember, you were defeated by the demon once. We can't go up against Nekomata.'

**But we can go up against Sakura, who will in turn fight Nekomata.**

'Sakura fights Nekomata everyday. It pains her so to even be in the same room as us, Shukaku, I can't inflict more torture and pain upon her, not when she only desires peace.'

**Whatever you say.**

Gaara turned to Tsunade, watching her make a clone of herself.

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I don't know." Kakashi sighed, looking out the window. From his position, he could see Gaara looking out the window at the two in the courtyard below. Shizune stood beside him, watching the two dancing in the rain.

"I have no idea what to think!" Shizune said, her voice quivering. "If Sakura doesn't learn to control Nekomata, then she will be killed and Nekomata sealed away in an object or a new vessel."

Kakashi placed a hand on Shizune's shoulder. "Don't worry, I will find a way to help her."

Shizune could only sigh, her voice slowly cracking as a tear fell from her left eye. After the ten years, Shizune had come to love Sakura like a daughter. If Shizune ever lost Sakura, her purpose in life would be over.

"At least Gaara is starting to move forward." Shizune said.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hinata shivered inside her sleeping bag, attempting to keep warm. Naruto was a couple feet away, in his own sleeping bag, watching Hinata shiver. Hidden beneath the covers, Naruto gripped a long black box.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked, "Are you cold?"

"N-n-n-n-no…A-a l-l-l-litt-t-t-le." She chattered.

"My sleeping bag is warm." Naruto said.

Hinata turned over to look at Naruto. She had question pasted across her face.

"I don't want you to get sick." Naruto said, unzipping part of it. "Come on, climb in."

Hinata debated it for a few seconds, her cheeks flushing crimson, before she moved; her bare feet making contact with the freezing ground. She climbed in next to him, trying not to touch him.

Naruto smiled. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close, drawing a squeak from her lips. "Hinata, you can't get warm unless you are next to the heat source." He laughed.

Hinata mumbled something he couldn't make out, but didn't move to pull away.

Next to her ear, Naruto whispered. "So why does Kiba want you back on their team so badly?"

Hinata jumped slightly when his breath touched her ear. "I-i-I don't kn-now." She stuttered, the cold having nothing to do with it.

"I think he likes you." Naruto whispered, tightening his arm around Hinata's waist.

"M-m-maybe." Naruto-kun was so close!

Naruto's hand moved, bringing a long black box to Hinata's face. "Here, I got this for you."

"N-naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in surprise, taking the box with her cold fingers. "What-what is it?"

"Open it."

Hinata had troubles lifting the lid, so Naruto did it for her, revealing the glittering necklace within. Hinata gasped, her eyes lighting up in wonder and surprise. She carefully touched the largest moonstone, the one in the center, and stroked it.

"So beautiful!" she sighed, "B-but I c-can't ex-except this."

"Why not?" Naruto asked.

"B-b-b-because…"

Naruto managed to pull Hinata even close to him, so that her back molded to the shape of his chest. "I really want you to have it, Hinata. Please? Take it, for me?"

Hinata nodded her head and gripped the box in her hand. Naruto buried his face into her long black hair and instantly fell asleep with the smell of lavender. Hinata continued to open the box and close it again, starring at the necklace. Why would Naruto-kun give her something like this?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**As I sit here listening to music in another language (I don't even know what language it is), I realize this is one of my shortest chapters. I am kind of disappointed. I think the Gaara/Sakura rain scene needs to be edited, but I am not sure. Maybe it is the Sasuke/Sakura rain scene that needs editation. What do you think?**_

_**I am also fully aware that a bunch of people probably want to flame me right now, so here is what I say, BRING IT ON! I really want some flames, why do you think I wrote that part? Or any part actually! Flame me on absolutely anything, I don't mind! Seriously, I don't, so hit that review button and flame me, or criticize me, or hell, flatter me!**_

_**Ok, so you will notice that I changed the summary of the story. That is seriously important! Also, I am at a stuck point. I know where I want to go, but I sort of need filler. Can anybody give me absolutely any scene they would want in this? Just a simple idea, anything really, so that I can then move this baby forward. Time to seriously start adding more to the plot.**_

_**Finals are in two days! EEK! And I skipped studying today! What am I going to do? Which means, of course, that I have no idea when the next chapter will be up. It will be up a lot sooner if somebody would give me an idea!**_

_**Ok, so three people guessed the demon correctly, sort of. **_

_**Kallou: You guessed Nekomata and the bat.**_

_**DarkLilly: You guessed the Snake and Nekomata.**_

_**Liquid-Starshin: You guessed Nekomata on your first shot.**_

_**Kallou: You then decided on the bat, then proceeded to tell me I had the demon rankings wrong, which I really appreciate it because I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. **_

_**DarkLilly: You then decided on Nekomata, but not before Liquid-Starshine got her answer in.**_

_**Liquid-Starshine: I have the privilege to announce that you are my contest winner! If you would not like to accept your prize, which is mentioned in chapter four or five, not sure which, I think four, then the prize will be given to DarkLilly. You have one week to respond.**_

_**Until the next chapter!**_

_**Annabelinda**_


	8. Catnip

_**So, while I was reading Naru/Saku fan-fiction, just for the heck of it, a thought suddenly dawned on me. Is it possible for women to be perverts? We always hear about the guys being perverts, but what about girls? Can they be perverted?**_

Chapter Eight Catnip

Gaara studied the blood paintings on the walls, just like he always did, while his back was propped up against the headboard of Sakura's bed. Lying beside him, clutching his leg, was Sakura, her face scrunched up. Gaara looked down at her when she squeezed his leg a little too hard.

**You were thinking about how beautiful she was.** Shukaku chimed, sending some cutesy images through Gaara's head.

'No, I was thinking about how she pinched my leg. What would cause her to do that?'

**The real question is, why is she sleeping while holding onto your leg in the first place? How did this situation even come about? Why is Sakura the only one that can touch you?**

Gaara was forced to think about his answers. 'She sleeps while holding onto my leg because she doesn't like being cold. This situation came about when I stopped her from killing herself. Sakura is the only one to touch me because…'

**Admit it, boy; there is something you aren't admitting. Why do you care about her?**

'I don't care about her.'

**Then why are you doing these things? Why do you allow her to come near you, why do you comfort her?**

'…because she is like me.' Gaara decided. 'Because she is fragile.'

**Again boy, why do you care that she is fragile? Why do you insist on protecting her?**

Again, Gaara grappled for an answer. 'I…I don't know.'

**Admit it, boy, there is something going on. Stop lying to yourself.**

Gaara looked over at the sleeping demon-container, carefully brushing some hair out of her eyes. To be honest, he had never seen somebody with pink hair. Of course, he had once met somebody with green-hair, and plenty of silver and purple hairs, but never pink. (_**That is because there can only be one pink-haired girl per show. (Wink)**_)

Inside, Shukaku was smirking. The only way to claim Nekomata was for Gaara to claim Sakura, and he couldn't do that unless he was influenced to realize a very important fact. Ah yes, this plan would go well, and Shukaku would show Nekomata that he was worthy of her.

She moaned, and then shot up straight, collecting her bearings. Sakura suddenly gagged, her hand covering her mouth, and bolted for the toilet, puking up whatever she hadn't puked after dinner while trying to fall asleep in the first place.

"What did you dream about?" Gaara asked her, watching her vomit a yellow substance.

Sakura looked over at him, thought for a second, and then proceeded to dry vomit, gagging without anything coming up. It must have been bad; usually she stopped puking by now. Sakura shook her head at his question and returned to leaning over the toilet.

Nekomata had been having a fantasy, so this actual gagging had nothing at all to do with Nekomata, but actually Sakura's disgust in the whole subject all together. When Nekomata finally realized they had been pulled out of the dream, she gave Sakura one hell of a mental beating.

_What is it with you? That was the best dream ever! But no, you pulled us back into this reality with that…thing over there leaning casually on our bed._

While venting Nekomata's frustration, Sakura puked again, bringing up a bit of blood. After a couple minutes, she crawled back onto the bed and sagged into her pillow, her back to Gaara.

Gaara looked at Sakura's back. Usually Sakura would tell him when she dreamed, which wasn't often. Sakura liked to vent her feelings to people she trusted, and she had made the mistake of trusting Gaara. Foolish girl, the foolish foolish girl.

Soon, Gaara heard Sakura's breathing slow, which meant she was asleep. She automatically attached herself to the warmest thing in the room, his leg, and kept a firm grip on it. Did she even know what she did in her sleep?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto and Hinata walked side by side, having collided in their routes a couple streets back. Hinata was playing with her fingers, blushing slightly, while Naruto was whistling away, his hands behind his head in a relaxed position.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped. Hinata stopped with him and turned toward him, wondering if something was wrong. Naruto had a serious look about him.

"Hinata, I just realized something."

Hinata blushed even more. Had Naruto finally realized his love for her?

"Remember when Tsunade-baa-sama was talking all about Nekomata a month back? I think it was raining that day too." Naruto looked up at the sky just as a rain-drop hit his cheek.

Hinata sighed. "The rainy season will be over soon, Naruto-kun, you have to be patient."

"That isn't what I was talking about." Naruto told her. Hinata turned back to him, curious as he continued. "Anyway, she was talking about how Nekomata's form is that of a cat, right?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, Nekomata is a two tailed cat with black feathery wings."

Naruto nodded seriously. "Exactly, which got me thinking…"

"What, Naruto-kun, what were you thinking?"

"I was wondering how Nekomata would act around catnip."

Hinata fell over. "W-w-what? C-c-catnip?"

Naruto nodded, his face still serious. "Yeah, you know how cats love catnip. And, Tsunade gave Sasuke the mission of getting closer to Sakura, therefore Nekomata, because said cat has taken an interest in Sasuke, and Tsunade wants to know why. If Nekomata likes catnip, then she will be instantly drawn to Sasuke, helping him complete the mission."

"Y-you are s-s-serious about th-this, Naruto-k-kun?"

Naruto nodded, and then his serious face turned into one of laughter. "Plus, if it doesn't work, it will be great seeing Sasuke get his butt whooped by the pink-haired girl."

Hinata sighed; leave it to Naruto to ruin a scene when he actually looks good.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

As soon as they walked into the hospital, Hinata and Naruto were greeted by Sasuke. Naruto winked at Hinata. Hinata sighed; Naruto was actually going to go through with it. He pulled Sasuke into a gruff hug, clapping him on the back, while dropping catnip down the back of Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke pulled away from the dobe, eyeing said dobe suspiciously. "What was that for, dobe?"

"I am feeling cheerful today, baka." Naruto shot back.

"You are always cheerful, moron."

"And you are always emo, emo."

"Look in the mirror, fag."

"I ain't emo, I'm cheerful!"

"Exactly, too cheerful, dobe."

"Take that back, baka!"

Hinata began to tune them out as they walked along the hallway. This was at least a daily thing, how their previous teammate handled it, Hinata would never know.

They walked into the room, still arguing.

Sakura raised her head from her knees. She was sitting in the corner, which Tsunade found interesting, because in the past month or so she has usually sat next to Gaara, often keeping a tight hold on his ankle. Gaara was the only one who noticed Sakura's reaction to a certain scent.

_What is that?_ Nekomata asked, sniffing the air.

'Are you high?' Sakura asked in disbelief.

_That smell is so good, I want more of it._

'Where is it coming from?'

Nekomata and Sakura both sniffed the air, which went unmissed by everybody but Gaara. The scent led them toward one direction and one person, Sasuke Uchiha. Nekomata began to go crazy, and certain R-rated images popped into Sakura's head, making her flinch.

Naruto started looking over at Nekomata, wondering if she had caught onto the scent or not. Sure enough, Sakura was sniffing the air while looking at Sasuke. It was working. He gave Hinata thumbs up, who just blushed and started twiddling her fingers.

Shrugging, Naruto took out the little catnip bomb he had made right before Hinata and he had gotten to the hospital. It was just a little black ball, but when Naruto uncapped it, he would have ten-seconds to get it to land on Sasuke's head.

Sasuke began walking around the room, waiting for the monthly sit-in session with Tsunade to begin. Just as he was passing Gaara, who was glaring at him, Naruto threw his little bomb.

Sasuke could see it coming and fell to the ground, landing on his hands. Gaara, with Sasuke being his full concentration, didn't see the one thing hurtling at him, until it landed on his head.

POOF!

It started raining little green flakes all over Gaara. Sakura instantly perked up, and green eyes turned to purple. The smell of catnip was too overpowering, and she jumped.

Sakura tackled Gaara to the ground, completely unknowing of what exactly she was doing, and began to rub her face against Gaara's clothed chest. Then she moved upward, rubbing against his shoulder, his neck, his cheek, his forehead, and then started nipping at his hair, lost in the mental high of catnip.

Shukaku, however, was completely sane and slowly losing it. **Boy, can you feel that. Oooh, she is moving up our neck, and our cheek. Ooh, her cool forehead feels good, no? Ooh, she is eating our hair, feisty!**

Gaara wasn't listening; he was trying to stay as still as possible. Sakura had just started purring, while rubbing her face against his head, sometimes his cheek, her hair tickling him in the eye and nose. What was a guy supposed to do when you had a crazy cat-demon completely attached to your being, rubbing up against you?

Gaara pushed Sakura away and stood up, but that didn't do anything. Sakura started rubbing her entire body up against Gaara's, her chest touching his, her legs brushing against his, rubbing against his, her cheek nestling his shoulder, her hands crawling up through his shirt in euphoria.

Tsunade let out an extremely loud cough. Gaara just looked over at her, surprise written across his face. "Get her off." He stated, trying not to let the anger into his voice.

Sasuke was about to move when Tsunade held up a hand. "We don't know what she will do if we pull her away. Can't you just deal with it?"

Gaara glared at her. Sakura went back to purring happily. Gaara sighed, defeated.

Sasuke and Tsunade started in on a conversation, but Gaara wasn't paying attention. He couldn't take his thoughts off of Sakura. She kept rubbing against him, usually against his chest or legs, purring softly and happily. There was something about the situation that just caused Gaara to loose his mind.

Later, as the group of five walked to the recreation room, Sakura continued to hang on to him, her face snuggled in to him, her nose scrunched up like an excited kitten. Gaara sat down on the couch, Sasuke took the other couch, and Hinata and Naruto took chairs. Sakura settled for Gaara's lap, now taking to stroking him.

Naruto flashed a smile at Hinata and showed her his spare catnip bomb. Hinata started shaking her head urgently, worry written across her face. Naruto-kun would get into a lot of trouble if he threw that last bomb. Naruto just grinned; trying to convince her everything would be ok.

In the meantime, Gaara was watching Sakura's face, waiting. Slowly, but surely, her purple eyes faded into green ones, but Sakura didn't stop her actions, she just began to purr louder.

"Sakura?" Gaara whispered, confused. Why wasn't she stopping?

"You smell so good." Sakura moaned into his shirt, taking in the entire scent. "What is this? I can't take it any longer!"

Sakura tried to get even closer to the scent, which ended with her pressed as close as possible to him, moving her chest and legs against his, stroking his hair, which still had some green flakes in it, and nipping at his ear slightly.

"DOBE!" Sasuke shouted, causing Sakura and Gaara to look over at Sasuke in surprise.

Sasuke was shaking a fist at a laughing Naruto while green flakes fell like snow from his body. Sakura took one whiff of the intoxicating smell before lunging. Gaara tried to hold her back, but was too slow.

Sakura tackled Sasuke to the ground, pinning him beneath her. She was purring some more and looking Sasuke in the eyes. "What is this scent?" she asked urgently, brushing her cheek with his. Sasuke spooked, but didn't attempt to get her off.

The truth, it felt nice to have this demon girl pressed against him, rubbing against him with everything she had. Of course, Sasuke would never admit it, but the demon was kind of hot, he could truly imagine her naked and doing this.

Sasuke shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Naruto had started laughing, clutching his stomach, while Hinata had a very worried expression on her face, one of her hands held up to her mouth in surprise. Gaara, however, was frowning. Some sort of weird electrical feeling that was hot to the touch was running through his body, spiking every nerve in his system.

**That would be jealousy, my boy.**

'Jealousy?" Gaara questioned, trying to stop the miserable feeling.

**Yep, jealousy. You don't like the fact that Nekomata is rubbing up against that stupid shinobi, you would prefer if it were you underneath her, receiving her attentions.**

Gaara paused in thought. Shukaku had a point; Gaara would prefer if it were him underneath her, if it were he who had Sakura rubbing against him like he was a scratching post. Gaara sighed, what were all these strange feelings he was beginning to feel?

Then, the unexpected happened. Sakura began to kiss Sasuke. First, it started at his neck, just a simple little kiss, and then she was trailing butterfly kisses (_**I hope that phrase means what I think it means. I am talking short little kiss, but I could have the definition totally wrong.**_) up the neck and to his jaw, up that, until she reached his lips.

As soon as she pressed her mouth to Sasuke's, he went nuts. Before either knew what had happened, it had blossomed into more than just a kiss. Sasuke rolled over so that he was on top, deepening the kiss.

Behind the two, Naruto's jaw had dropped to the ground in surprise and Hinata was fiddling her fingers with embarrassment. Gaara was fighting a battle that he was slowly losing. Gaara moved with so much speed, nobody saw him as he threw Sasuke into another wall and hoisted Sakura to her feet.

Sakura's face had drained while reality began to settle in. Had she just intimately kissed Sasuke Uchiha? In embarrassment, Sakura hid behind Gaara, avoiding Sasuke, who was slowly getting up from the wall, her face buried in Gaara's back. Gaara just looked at her in surprise.

Sakura wasn't mad at Gaara, because she was pressed against him, but it appeared to Gaara that Sakura was having some very mixed and confused feelings. Did she have any idea as to what she had just done?

"What was that for?" Sasuke growled, standing up all the way.

"You were about to hurt her." Gaara said plainly, trying not to show any of the anger in his voice. It appeared that he had succeeded.

Sasuke thought back on the moment. He _had_ started to lean into Sakura more than he should have, perhaps resting too much weight on her frail being. "Whatever." He said, grabbing Naruto by the ear and dragging him out of the room. Hinata quickly followed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tsunade's face was red with anger as she glared at the three shinobi before her. "WHAT THE AFTERLIFE WAS THAT?"

Everybody, including Kakashi and Shizune against the wall, cringed in fear. Naruto began to splutter. "I am sorry, Tsunade-sama (neglecting the baa for a reason), it is my entire fault!"

Tsunade turned to Sasuke, ignoring the blubbering Naruto and ghost-like Hinata. "Sasuke? Explain yourself?"

"What is there to explain?" he asked.

"Why you didn't stop Sakura, or why you _did_ respond."

"That is an easy question." Naruto answered for Sasuke, "He has obviously fallen for her."

Tsunade blinked in surprise, along with Kakashi. "What?" she asked politely, refraining from hitting Naruto.

"Shut it, dobe!" Sasuke hissed, redirecting Tsunade's glare back at him. Sasuke thought carefully over his next words. "I…didn't want to get killed." Sasuke stated, "She was obviously in a very agitated state, and disrupting that state could have killed everybody in that room, including me."

Tsunade huffed in disbelief. "You could see perfectly that her eyes were green, not purple. Sakura was being herself."

"Wait!" Naruto said, confusing lighting up his face, "Are you telling me that the actual Sakura, not the demon, likes Sasuke?"

Tsunade nodded gravely. "I fear it might be so."

Sasuke just blinked, trying not to gulp in fear.

As the room began to contemplate things, the monitor showing Gaara's and Sakura's rooms went unnoticed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sakura could feel the tears on her cheeks. She had her face hidden in her pillow, crying, but not sobbing. Her breath didn't hitch, her shoulders didn't shake, nothing gave away her emotional state to Gaara. Gaara, however, knew what was happening to the girl lying next to him, avoiding his touch.

Gaara leaned his head back, mentally sighing. He was so confused about so many things, and it was a surprise to even him when words suddenly popped out of his mouth. "Why don't you touch me like that?"

Sakura looked up, shocked, completely forgetting she had tear stains on her face. "Like…like…like earlier?" she asked, "When you had that…smell?"

Gaara nodded.

"I…I…I don't know."

Sakura eyes the red-head, examining him. He was confused about something, that much was obvious. But what? Sakura sniffed the air, wondering if there was anymore of that one scent.

Sakura sat up and leaned over, sniffing Gaara's hair. "Your hair still smells good." she whispered, pressing her nose into his hair. Weirdly, it was actually quite soft, even if it did have some stray sand in it. Sakura closed her eyes, taking in the scent. "It smells really good."

"But Sasuke has the same smell." Gaara muttered sadly.

Sakura pressed herself to Gaara's arm, her eyes still closed. "You smell better." Sakura stated, "The scent on Sasuke is mixed with another scent, kind of like mold. You smell like that scent and…salt."

Gaara moved slightly and Sakura slipped, falling face first across his lap. "Then why did you kiss the Uchiha?"

Sakura sat up, not getting off Gaara's lap, and looked him in the eyes. "I don't know." She admitted sadly, looking down. "Your scent wasn't as strong, his was overpowering, I guess I kind of lost it. Why does it matter?"

Gaara leaned back, ignoring the pink-haired demon still sitting on his legs. "I don't know." He sighed, his voice emotionless, hard as stone.

"Did you not like what I did?" Sakura asked hesitantly, fearing his reaction.

"I don't know."

"What if I did it kind of differently?"

"How could you do it differently?"

Sakura shrugged. "I guess I would do it this way." She leaned into him, looking him straight into the eyes. "Yes, like this." She breathed, only a split-second before pressing her lips tenderly to his.

It was soft, like heaven, Gaara decided, but he was still as rigid as stone. After five seconds, and no response (although Sakura wasn't really sure about what kind of response she was supposed to receive), Sakura began to pull back, their lips disconnecting.

**MAKE OUT SCENE!** (_**Sorry to ruin the moment, but I have a warning. If you don't like make-out scenes, granted they aren't as bad as lemon, then don't go any further. Skim through the next couple paragraphs until you see more capital bold words, understood?**_)

Sakura gasped as arms snaked across her waist and brought her back, causing lips to meet again. Sakura leaned into Gaara as his lips did the work this time. Gaara's mouth opened slowly. His tongue began to trace her lips, imprinting their physique into his head.

Sakura moaned slightly and opened her mouth a little, her tongue coming out slowly to meet with his. The two touched, sending tingling sensations through both Gaara and Sakura's bodies. Sakura's arms made their way to Gaara's neck and into his hair, playing with the short soft locks wistfully. Gaara brought Sakura even closer to him and began to move one of his arms up and down her back, never taking the one from her waist. Tongues began to dance, fighting for lead role. Gaara's tongue won and made its way further into her mouth, feeling along her inner lips and brushing along her teeth. Sakura moaned again, completely astounded. The Sasuke kiss hadn't felt like this.

**MAKE OUT SCENE OVER!**

They drew back, panting slightly, not able to take eyes off of the other's pupils. Tingly sensations were still coursing through their bodies. Sakura lay her head down on Gaara's chest, her breathing rapid, as she listened to his beating heart. His heart rate was elevated.

Gaara continued to rub his arm up and down her back, enjoying the feeling of Sakura being so close to him. Her breathing slowed and soon became the rhythmic sound of her sleeping, having fallen asleep against him.

**Are you ready to admit it, boy?**

'No, not yet.' Gaara replied, smiling.

**She is meant to be with you, and you know it. We should mark her.**

'Don't go getting stupid ideas.' Gaara snapped, cutting off the contact.

Gaara shifted slightly, letting Sakura settle into a more comfortable position against him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi tapped Shizune on the shoulder and pointed at the ignored and abandoned monitor. Shizune looked over just as the kiss ended and Sakura leaned against Gaara, closing her eyes.

"Wow." She said, completely stunned. "I…I didn't see this coming."

"That just complicates things." Kakashi muttered.

"Huh?"

"Wah-oh-nothing!" Kakashi said a little too quickly. "I have to go get some sleep now." Kakashi left the room, leaving Shizune alone to witness the epic argument between Tsunade and Sasuke/Naruto.

_**IMPORTANT: Ok, bad news, I won't be able to write very much until after next weekend, June 6**__**th**__**. Tomorrow I spend the entire day at a hockey tournament here in my hometown, and then next weekend there is a hockey tournament in Lakewood or Lakeview Colorado. You might just get lucky though cause the tournament could fall through. The guys on my team have a tendency to back out at the last second.**_

_**IMPORTANT TWO: Kallou, thank you so much for the idea for this story. Your one idea of a hundred characters led to this story of 18000 characters, so my thanks.**_

_**IMPORTANT THREE: I need some help here people. I don't know how this chapter sits with me, and I need to know your feelings toward it. Also, that was sort of my first make-out scene. I actually had to go searching through "How to make out" pages to actually write that. I would like to know how I did with that and how I should improve my skills on that.**_

_**My eternal thanks,**_

_**Annabelinda**_

_**Sorry for it being so short!**_


	9. Love

_**Well, here we go, Chapter Nine. Guess I will give you a bit of a summary, since I am bored. Sasuke realizes something, Gaara has to admit something he doesn't like, Nekomata goes crazy, and why is Kakashi on the roof? Ooh, and we get to meet a new character, **_

_**By the way, you know what peeves me? When people fave or story-alert my story without giving a review. IT DRIVES ME NUTS! I mean, come on people, if you are going to fave something, at least tell me why you like it, otherwise you just tick me off. And, when you story-alert something, it means you are interested in the ending, which means you like it, and I would at least like to know why the story interested you. I WANT YOUR OPINION! Even if you actually hate the story and you are just refraining from flaming me, BRING IT ON! I haven't had a flame in forever, and it is starting to drive me nuts! So, if you plan on faving or story-alerting this, REVIEW! For what you are worth, REVIEW!**_

_**Hehe, sorry about the capitals, got a little carried away there.**_

Chapter Nine: Love

Sakura startled awake, eyes searching for the intrusion upon her sleep. Nekomata had also gotten up; mad about her Sasuke dreams being interrupted. The previous day, Nekomata had actually konked out, going into fantasy mode, after Sakura had kissed the Uchiha, and was currently sifting through memories to find out what she had missed.

Sakura instinctively snuggled closer to the warm thing beside her and was instantly startled to find her arms wrapped around something a lot bigger than a leg. She jerked upward, taking in the view. Gaara was lying on his back, his arm had been a position around her shoulders, and he had his eyes closed.

"Gaara?" she asked, surprised. Had she been holding onto _him_ all night?

"I'm not asleep." He told her, answering her unasked question.

He opened his eyelids to take a look at her. Suddenly, her gut wrenched and she puked over the edge of the bed, leaning over Gaara to do so. Gaara flinched when the acidic smell hit his nose, but he sat up all the same and stroked Sakura's arm.

This only made the gagging worse, and Sakura got up off the bed. Stupid Nekomata had found the memories.

_WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME HAPPENED!_ She screamed, _I leave you alone for five minutes, and you make-out with him! What is wrong with you?_

Sakura gagged again, puking up a bloody yellow substance.

**Nekomata has issues.** Shukaku replied, yawning in a bored way, **You see, Nekomata is really into that Sasuke guy, and absolutely hates you.**

'You mean, I am doing this to her?'

**Well, indirectly, yes. Directly, this is all Nekomata's doing.**

'So, if I wasn't near her all the time, Sakura wouldn't puke, and she would actually eat?'

**Now back up, boy, don't go getting any stupid ideas in your stupid little head! And don't you dare d-** and the rest of Shukaku's words were lost as Sakura began coughing and spluttering blood.

"Nekomata!" Sakura whined, clutching her stomach.

_This is payback, missy, I can't let you get any close to _that_. Understood?_

Sakura opened her eyes just in time to see Gaara dissolve into sand. She began to panic and crawled over to where he had been sitting, clutching at the rough sheets of her bed in fear. Where was he? Had he left her?

_So he started getting the hint, did he?_

Sakura wasn't paying attention. Her mind was a confused jumble. What was happening, where had he gone, why had he left, nothing was making sense? Gaara deviates from pattern one moment and Sakura begins panicking? But he hadn't come back yet! Sakura felt a single tear from her right eye. She moved to the door and tried to open it, only to find it locked.

What was happening!? Sakura tugged at the door handle harder, trying to get it to open. Nothing was happening! Sakura fell to her knees as she coughed some more, spluttering blood all over herself. But, for once, Sakura wasn't concerned about her own blood; she was concerned about the lack of an over-warm presence near her side.

00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00oo00oo00oo00oo000ooo000ooo000ooo000

Gaara leaned casually against his own bed as his sand particles put him back in place perfectly, not a single piece of sand out of place. Shukaku was starting to rant.

**What did you go and do that for? Baka! Dobe! Moron! You freaking sleep with her every night!**

'Shut it!' Gaara snapped at the demon, his hair rising on end. 'I realized something important!'

**Now you are going to be all important and courageous and things, aren't you?**

'I caused Sakura's pain!' Gaara shouted at his demon, 'And you never told me! Sakura has barely eaten anything in the last two months (_**or something like that**_) and it is all my fault! She could have died from malnutrition!'

**Now you listen here, boy, you get back in that room right this instance.**

'NO!'

**DO IT!**

'It ain't happening!'

**Give it one week, one week and you will go crawling back to her.**

'I can't ever see her again; it is for her own protection.'

**Well, I got you to admit something, even if it wasn't what I wanted you to.**

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura clutched at her stomach. She was so hungry. Shizune came in carrying a plate of food, piled high, and brought it over to Sakura. Sakura dug into it like no tomorrow.

"Jeesh, Sakura, you only ate this much in the last month, and yet now you are finishing three of these things in one day?" Shizune asked, sitting down.

"I don't know." Sakura replied, "I don't know why I am suddenly so hungry."

"Kakashi said Gaara has been refusing to eat." Shizune told her, fingering with the sheets. "For somebody who hasn't been around Gaara for very long, Kakashi sure is worried."

Sakura stopped eating, her fork only centimeters from her mouth. "Refusing to eat?" she choked, her voice cracking.

It had been an entire week, a very one week, that included Sakura doing nothing but eating and lying in bed, wishing she had that warm presence next to her while she attempted to sleep. But Gaara had never come back, and Sakura never got to see him, ever. She didn't understand what was happening.

Sakura pushed the half eaten tray of food away, something within her stomach making it feel like it was sinking slowly.

_That would be guilt,_ Nekomata said, _you feel guilty. You know, if he sees you again, it will only cause him more pain._

'R-really?"

Nekomata nodded.

Sakura sighed.

Shizune picked up the food and took it away, leaving Sakura behind in her moment of misery.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"We have to do something!" Tsunade said loudly, slamming her fist on the table. "My patients are going to kill themselves!"

"But we don't even know what happened!" Naruto argued, pointing at the monitor.

Kakashi nodded. Shizune wasn't around, so she wouldn't have the urge to spill about what happened a week ago. "There is that point, we have no idea what happened."

"Sasuke!" Tsunade shouted, pointing an accusing-like finger at the boy. He looked up from his casual sitting position and instantly paled. "You are going to go find out what is wrong! Nekomata likes you, kind of trusts you, so this is your new sub-mission. Understood?"

"Hn!"

"Good, now move out!"

Sasuke sighed as he stood up and walked out of the room. He trudged along slowly, trying to organize his thoughts. The last week had been complicated, too complicated. Every night had ended in a very cold shower for Sasuke while he tried to understand just what the kami was happening to him.

Sakura was confusing him beyond anything he had ever been confused about. She had kissed him a week ago, and since then stayed in her room, only leaving for her daily meetings with Tsunade. He had to admit, she was hot, extremely hot, but was that why he felt such great attraction for her?

Sasuke opened the door after nodding to the two ninja guards, they must have drawn the short stray, and walked in. Sakura was curled up in as tight a ball as she could be, her eyes open and alert. Sasuke saw them flash purple when they saw him.

"What?" Sakura snapped.

Sasuke inwardly flinched as pointed teeth snarled at him. "Tsunade sent me. She is worried about you." He said casually, sitting down on her bed near her feet.

"There isn't anything to worry about." Sakura mumbled.

"If that is the case, then why have you been eating nonstop and sticking to your room as much as possible?"

"Just because!" Sakura snarled, closing her eyes in frustration. "I would like you to leave!"

"Well, we have things to talk about!" Sasuke snapped back, not raising his voice.

"Like what?"

"Like that kiss?"

Sakura paused before striking back "Which kiss?"

Sasuke's mental jaw fell to the ground. Which kiss? Had she kissed somebody else? "One week ago, the recreation center, you KISSED me."

"Oh, that." Sakura said, her voicing turning into a sad sigh. "You smelled really good."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I smelled good?"

Sakura nodded, hitting her head against her knees. "Yeah, Gaara had the same scent. But, yours was fresh, and mixed with that mold scent of yours."

"I smell like mold?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

Sakura nodded again. "Yeah, I think it has something to do with that mark on your shoulder/neck."

Sasuke eyes her. He had covered that mark with a powerful genjutsu. Could she really see through it? "Touch the mark!"

Sakura sat up and leaned over, placing her finger on the center of the mark. "Right here." She brought out one of her needles from beneath her nails and began to trace it. "It looks like three commas, and there is an interesting design circling it." Sakura traced every last part with her finger, sending chills up Sasuke's spine.

"So you don't like the smell of mold?" Sasuke asked, curious.

"Not exactly."

"What if I smelled like that one scent?"

Sakura shook her head, entranced in the symbol before her.

Sasuke jerked, looking over at her. "Why not?" he demanded.

Sakura blinked, confused. "Because, I didn't exactly mean to do that before."

"Did you not like it at all?"

Sakura bit on her lip, thinking. She had kind of enjoyed it, but the kiss with Gaara had been so much better…Gaara, how she missed him.

_Don't you dare go thinking about him missy, look at that hunk right there sitting on our bed. Ooh, look he is leaning toward us. _

Sakura found her body frozen, unable to move. Nekomata's doing, surely. Sasuke leaned in some more, noticing she wasn't pulling back, and pressed his lips to hers. Mentally, Sakura flipped out and started screaming, Nekomata started purring, and the actual body stayed rock solid.

Sakura felt herself lean all the way back against her bed, Sasuke leaning over her, their mouths still together. When had they locked tongues? And what was Sasuke's hand doing on her leg? Why did it feel like time was going by faster than it should be?

Sasuke's hand started moving upward, reaching her waist, and then her stomach, and was about to reach her bra when Nekomata started going nuts.

_What does this boy think he is doing? I, yes I, MAKE THE MOVES HERE!_

Nekomata was mad and Sakura was in a very weak emotional state, which could leave to only one thing.

Sasuke was pushed up against the wall, Sakura's hand pinning him there by his throat, her hidden claws digging into his skin. Her angry expression turned to one of surprise.

"I am in control?" she asked.

_Please don't do this!_ Sakura screamed, trying to control the emotions and feelings running through her. Who knew what Nekomata might do.

Nekomata/Sakura smiled wickedly and then fixed her gaze on Sasuke. "What, are you weaker than I thought? Maybe you don't disserve us." And Sasuke was thrown to the bed and left there.

'It is time for payback for a week ago. I knew this would happen eventually, Sasuke was just the trigger, everything previous the ammo. Time for payback.'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 (_**As much as I hate the cliffhanger too, I need this scene to happen first, hope you understand.)**_

Gaara fiddled with his sand, scattering the pile with his finger, swirling it with his power, and neatly putting it back into a pile. He was bored, hungry, and his chest hurt beyond reason.

Gaara brushed the sand away from his bed and rolled over to his back, gazing at the ceiling. This last week had been the hardest week of his life, stretching his self-control like only one other challenge had ever done, trying not to sleep.

**It has been one week. Will I win?**

Gaara ignored him, his thoughts centered on that pain in his chest. Gaara clutched at it with his right hand, attempting to get to it through his skin and clothing. He had felt like this before, when he was five, he thought. Gaara's uncle had been trying to explain love, not really succeeding. No matter how many times his uncle stated that he loved Gaara, Gaara would always know the truth.

He couldn't remember when that pain had left him, maybe Gaara had just not noticed anymore, because it was always there. Maybe, now, the pain was just worse, and that was why Gaara could feel it. That sort of made sense.

Gaara rolled to his right, facing the wall across from his bed. Yes, this last week had definitely been hard. It was so hard not to go to Sakura's room, so hard to listen to her cry, to listen to her sob, and to listen to her roll around restlessly as she attempted to sleep. It was painful not having that cold and yet warm being right next to him at night, so hard not to have her clutching his ankle while meeting Tsunade, so hard to know that Sakura was better off without him. Yes, Sakura was better off without him, that was for sure.

**Are you really so sure about that? Have you actually been listening to her cry? I could smell the blood too, Nekomata must have broken out with minimum control due to the emotional stress.**

'She has been eating too; from what I can tell, tons of food a day. She has started gaining a little weight. Sakura is becoming whole again, without puking or coughing up blood.'

**Yes, because you might be able to leave her alone, but you have to use your Third Eye to at least check on her.**

'If Sakura is about to hurt herself, I will stop her.'

**Basically, you are saying you want to protect her?**

'I wouldn't quite put it that way.'

**Whatever boy, eventually you will admit everything.**

A knock came from Gaara's door. He sat up to watch the blue/purple haired ninja walking into his room carrying a small tray of food. It contained a creamy soup with floating green pieces, a roll, a couple pieces of dried meat, and a glass of water. The girl set it down on his bedside table and waited.

Hinata started twiddling with her fingers, trying not to look at Gaara. He eyes her, wondering why she was bringing him food.

"Tsunade-sama said you haven't been eating." Hinata said, saying her words very slowly so as not to stutter. "I thought a little home-made food would get you to eat."

Gaara looked over at the food. It did smell better than the slob in the cafeteria. He took up a spoon and started eating the soup, Hinata kept against the wall being quieter than a mouse.

Gaara finished eating all but the meat-pieces, just saving those for later. Hinata hadn't moved, and her face had turned slightly red.

"Is there something bothering you?" Gaara asked, his voice an I-don't-care tone.

Hinata nodded. "W-w-would you m-mind if-f I j-just-t t-talked?"

Gaara signaled with his hand for her to continue.

"I-think-I'm-in-love-with-two-guys!" she said too quickly to stutter. "Naruto-kun has been the love of my life since I was a little girl in the academy, and Naruto-kun is so inspiring to watch. He never gives up, and his only wish is to be acknowledged.

"But then, Kiba-kun, who has recently showed interest in me, obvious enough for me to notice, but not so obvious that everybody else notices, has been there for me since we became a team together with Shino. He helped me train, doing exactly what I asked, and helps me when I need help. Kiba-kun also recognizes my crush with Naruto-kun, and tried to help me out, while also giving hints that he would also like my attentions.

"But Naruto-kun bought me this beautiful moonstone necklace," Hinata took something out of her pocket and showed it to Gaara. "and insisted that I sleep right next to him on that one night because it was so cold and I was shivering. I think Naruto-kun has finally noticed my attentions. And now I am torn!

"Kiba-kun has also given me presents, like a rose once, or a barrette one day because my hair kept falling in my face, etc. Little things, while Naruto-kun insists on big things, and once Kiba held me when I was cold, him and Akamaru both." Hinata sighed, sagging to the ground.

"I want to choose between the two of them, because in the last few months, I have fallen in love with both of them. They are both so kind to me, and really care about me, and love me, but what am I supposed to do?"

Hinata looked over at Gaara, who was looking at the ceiling, his expression that of a thinking person. Gaara looked over at her, his eyes making her go rigid. "What is love?"

Hinata held her breath without meaning to. "W-w-well, l-love is…a f-feeling. O-one feels a close bond to the other, kind of. Like, I greatly admire Naruto-kun, and hold him dear to me, he is one of my important people. I would die to protect Naruto-kun, and I would do absolutely anything to make him happy. I feel the same way about Kiba-kun, and wish that I could hold his hand or his arm, to touch him always. Love is the feeling you have toward the person who makes you happier than your wildest dreams, like when Kiba-kun comforts me, and when he makes me feel suddenly so happy after I was so depressed, and the way he can make me laugh with the simplest things, and he knows me better than I know myself.

"Love is love, there really is n-no w-w-way to ex-explain it-t."

Gaara nodded, his thoughtful expression back. "Hmm, yes, I see."

**Now what do you see, boy?** Shukaku asked, hinting at something important. **What are you finally seeing?**

'Love, it is more complicated than I could have ever imagined. Does anybody actually understand love?'

**No, of course not.**

'But I want love, even though I can't understand it. Does anybody stand a chance against the feeling?'

**Nope, not even demons.**

'Then I guess I can't deny it, can I?'

"I have it!" Hinata said excitedly, forgetting her earlier embarrassment. "By describing love to you, I have finally figured out who I truly do love, and which of them I will truly never be able to leave. Thank you so much!"

With that, Hinata picked up the tray and left with it, leaving behind the jerky. Just as she was about to open the door, Naruto came running in, his face flushed from running. Hinata fell backwards and landed, dirty dishes crashing around her.

Naruto took one glance, replied with a "whoops" and started rambling to the two of them. "Sasuke was found unconscious in Sakura's room, and she is nowhere to be found. Tsunade thinks Nekomata took over!"

**I can guide you, boy.**

Gaara moved like lightening, exiting the room before Naruto could blink. He bypassed the guards easily, pinning them to the wall and relieving them of oxygen just long enough for them to pass out. He glided through the hallways, going only where Shukaku mentally pointed.

After about five minutes, Gaara found Sakura, blood dripping from her claws, hair wild, eyes purple, scrapes all along her body with shredded clothes falling from her body. Sakura had gone feral.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o (**Again, I need this scene to happen. Sorry about the cliffhanger.)**

Shizune opened the door leading to the roof, happy to see Kakashi leaning against the railing casually, his Itcha Itcha Paradise open to about the end. "Kakashi?" she asked, unsure if he was ok with company.

"Come on over, Shizune, I can tell you are worried."

Shizune walked over and leaned against the railing beside Kakashi. She waited several minutes before speaking.

"I am worried about Sakura." She said, her voice near whispering. "Sakura is like a daughter to me, you know. She was so young when she came in, covered in blood. I took care of her, making sure she was safe. Nobody really bothered Sakura though. I helped her though, making sure she was fed and well cared for. She was like a daughter, a real one, the one I could never have, and if anything were to happen to her…

"Sakura might seem so strong on the outside, but inside she is weaker than a fly. Nekomata can easily take control in heightened emotional states, and Sakura has been flying off the wall lately. It is only a matter of time before Nekomata escapes. And Sakura could get hurt, again.

"She is always getting hurt by Nekomata's actions, but she doesn't care what she does to Sakura, as long as she gets her way. Sakura is going to break soon, and when she does, I probably will too. When mothers lose their daughters, what do they do?"

"They go through the rest of life missing their daughter, but understanding that the world takes and gives. There is no way you can stop something from happening to Sakura, you can only try."

Shizune nodded, touched by Kakashi's words. "But I still don't know what will happen to me when something happens to her."

"You don't even know something will happen to her."

"Yes…yes I do."

Kakashi suddenly jerked his head downward, his Sharingan focusing on a window. Was that Aki he saw? Wait, what was that pink thing?

Oh no!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nekomata/Sakura growled and snarled, glaring at the girl before her. She had silver hair the same shade as Kakashi's, maybe a little lighter, that fell in ringlets around her pretty face. Her eyes were simply onyx.

The girl, whose name tag said Aki, stood with her arms spread out and her legs in a V, protecting the room behind her. They were standing just outside the children's ward.

_Please don't, you can't do this! Don't hurt them, please don't hurt them! I can't let you, I can't let you! Please don't!_

"This is your punishment." Nekomata said out loud, looking back up at Aki.

Gaara suddenly rushed around the corner and stood rigid, taking in the scene. Girl who stood no chance was up against Nekomata, trying to protect something behind her. Gaara looked over at the sign, children's ward?

Gaara looked over at Nekomata, who had claws at the ready, about to pounce. Nekomata was definitely in full control, and was about to do something that Sakura would kill herself for later, kill a child.

"You aren't getting past this door." The silvered haired girl declared.

"And you can't stop me!" Nekomata snarled, moving.

She was suddenly stopped when a shield of sand came up around Aki, blocking Sakura. Nekomata turned around and leapt toward Gaara. He held out a hand and winced as the claws brought up blood.

Gaara blocked her with sand when he could anticipate her movements, with his arm when he couldn't, while Nekomata lashed out with her needles, trying desperately to kill him.

_NO! You can't kill Gaara! DON'T! PLEASE STOP! I can't live without GAARA!_

Gaara got nicked on the face, now a long scratch from just below his eye to his chin. Blood came forth, starting to drip from his chin, but that didn't stop the fight.

Nekomata ducked as she went for Gaara's legs. He kicked her, pushing her back just a little, and took a step backwards as she lunged for his face. She went for his stomach, he twisted and kicked her stomach, but she seemed unfazed. The exchanged more blows, while Sakura continued to protest.

_I can't let you do this! Killing Gaara is even worse than killing children. I can't allow this! STOP! STOP NOW!_

'You are gonna have to try harder than that to stop me.' Nekomata sneered.

_SSSSSTTTTTOOOOOOOPPPPPPP! STOP THIS NOW!_

Nekomata faltered and Gaara kicked her in the stomach, sending her actually a few feet backwards instead of inches.

_STOP!_

Gaara pushed her to the ground and stood over her, waiting for the demon. He watched her, keeping one eye on her eyes and the other for movement. He fixated both eyes when Nekomata blinked several times, each blink producing a color that got closer and closer to green.

Sakura came back into existence. She looked up at Gaara, surprised. She couldn't believe it, Gaara was standing right next to her, looking down at her with those charcoal rimmed eyes with blue irises, and being so beautiful while he did it.

She hugged his leg tightly, not letting go when he started shaking his head. Over near the children's ward door, Aki spoke. "Is it safe?"

Sakura, who had snuggled her face into his pant leg, sighed happily. Gaara looked over at Aki and nodded. She came over and was about to get within ten feet of Gaara's radius when a hand stopped her.

Gaara and Sakura both looked over to see the familiar chakra presence of Kakashi. He had his hand extended, stopping Aki from approaching.

"D-" Aki was cut off by Kakashi's words. "What happened?"

"The girl, she tried to get into the children's ward." Aki explained, "But this man stopped her, and he is bleeding. He needs medical attention."

"Is she back to normal?" Kakashi asked, sort of assuming the answer by the way Sakura was holding Gaara's leg. Just like a cat and its favorite toy.

Gaara bent down and wrapped his arms around Sakura, bringing her close. "Yes, she is."

Gaara breathed in her scent, oh it was wonderful. He wasn't sure what Sakura smelled like exactly, just that she smelled good. Gaara sighed contentedly, realizing something. The pain in his chest was lessoning, bringing forth a warm and pleasant tingly feeling. Sakura snuggled closer to him, pressing against him as close as possible.

Aki kneeled down beside Gaara and began to wipe at his face gently, cleaning the scratch. "It isn't very deep, so it shouldn't scar or anything. Just don't pick at the scab." Aki wiped it with a wet cotton ball. Gaara didn't flinch. "So why did she act like that? Does she have a mental condition?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, something like that."

Aki nodded in understanding and turned back toward Gaara. "She seems quite attached to you." She deducted.

Gaara nodded, holding onto Sakura just a little tighter.

"Come on, Aki, let's give these two a little bit of time."

Kakashi led Aki away, her holding onto his arm.

Sakura mumbled something incoherent. She looked up at him, smiling. "I thought you were gone forever."

Gaara shook his head slowly, his face grave. He shouldn't be doing this, Sakura was going to puke any moment. Sakura noticed the look. "I won't puke all over you."

Gaara looked down at her, unreal eyebrows raised. "How come?"

"Nekomata is wallowing in self-pity, I just forced her out of control. She is a little too surprised to mess with my stomach." Sakura buried her face back into him, enjoying the warmth.

She had been cold the entire week, never having respite. Now, Gaara was here.

"Sakura, I must tell you something."

Sakura cocked her head, questioning.

"I think…I finally know what love is."

Sakura just looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. "What is love?"

Gaara held her gaze, fixing their eyes together. He leaned in close to her, so their breaths mingled for a short period of time. "I believe it is…you."

And his lips touched her gingerly, unsurely. Sakura wrapped her arms around him, trying to get closer to his lips.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" Kakashi asked.

"Don't lecture me." Aki argued, "I know how dangerous it was, but those kids were in danger. If I hadn't stopped her, she would have hurt them."

"You have no medical training, do you know that she could have killed you? Sakura is no cherry blossom when it comes to killing."

"But she didn't kill me, and if I hadn't been there, again, she would have killed them before the other boy could get to her. What is up with those two anyway?" she asked, her voice turning soft.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, even though he did know. Gaara and Sakura were complicating things, greatly, and Kakashi had to fix them.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Sasuke massaged his neck while Naruto started laughing. They had the entire thing on tape, and Naruto couldn't believe what had happened to Sasuke. Hinata was trying to rub alcohol on his wounds, but her hands were so jittery she only managed to spill the acidic stuff all over Sasuke.

Tsunade was pacing the room while watching the latest footage found on Sakura and Gaara. They were now currently back in their rooms, or should she say Sakura's room, with Sakura asleep like a baby.

"I didn't actually expect this to happen." Tsunade said, looking at the monitor worriedly. "I only wanted them to know they weren't the only people going through the same thing, to know that there was a way to help them. I wasn't expecting this, I didn't exactly _want_ this either."

"I think it is cute." Shizune mentioned, cooing at the screen. "My sweet cherry blossom has fallen in love!" When confronted with Tsunade's stare, Shizune went on. "They are people, Tsunade-sama, you can't expect them to go on forever without realizing that, not only were they together as two demons, but they would make the perfect mates for each other."

The pig, or Ton-ton, at Tsunade's feet, oinked in agreement. "Pwee, pwee, pwee!"

Tsunade sighed. "I guess I will just have to see how this goes."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

_**And that, my dear people, is the end of this chapter. You might not be able to tell, but I have started to set up the ending here in this chapter after having the greatest amount of inspiration earlier today.**_

_**There will be a sort of two-part ending, Gaara's ending, and Sakura's ending. Gaara's ending will come first, about next chapter, and then Sakura's soon after that. So, yes, as sad as it is, it brings me to tears, this story is finally coming to a close, or near one.**_

_**I am kind of excited, this is only the third or forth story I have ever ended (not including one-shots). Usually I get side-tracked before finishing something.**_

_**Anyway, I had Sasuke almost rape Sakura, because I can't bring myself to kill the dude. Sure, he deserves it, but I kind of like Sasuke, and I don't want to kill him. So, he got to have claws stuck into his neck and thrown against a wall, while getting a severe beating. **_

_**Feelings, criticisms, flames, and comments are welcomed! Didn't like something, let's hear it! I really want to improve as a writer. Liked something, what was it? Just want to vent some steam about a certain part you particularly hated, then start venting!**_

_**Until the next chapter,**_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**Annabelinda**_

_**P.S. Forgive any grammar mistakes, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. The main ones will be typos, especially when I end up typing a d instead of an s, or the other way around, to make actions sound in the wrong tense. Or other weird typos that avoid the spelling check.**_

Name: Aki

Personality: cheerful, kind, curious, empathetic

Appearance: bright silver hair, flowing down in ringlets

What my character wants to be: medical ninja, or therapist

Thanks again!


	10. Gaara's Ending

_**Well, this chapter will feature one of the endings (as I mentioned previously, I have made this into a two part ending story, one part being Gaara's ending, the other being Sakura's ending.) Gaara's ending will be during this chapter and will finish this chapter, allowing me to get to Sakura next chapter. Don't take ending in the wrong way; I really truly won't kill Gaara. If I can't kill Sasuke, do you really believe I could kill Gaara?**_

Chapter Ten: Gaara's Ending

"_I believe it is…you."_

Gaara smiled, thinking back. Yes, Sakura, Sakura was love. He turned his head to look down at her. She had her back formed to his chest, pressed as closely to him as possible, using on of his arms as a stuffed animal.

Gaara had finally found the thing he had always wanted, he had wanted Love, and if Sakura was love, then the only thing Gaara wanted was Sakura.

**Technically, I won.**

Gaara cocked his head at Shukaku. 'You waited two weeks to bring that up?'

**Well, you have seemed distracted. So, you want Sakura?**

'Don't I have her?'

**Technically, no. Sakura isn't your property until you make her yours.**

'How do I do that?'

**Well, first, she has to feel the same way about you as you feel about her. She must love you. Second, jinchuuriki like to mark their mates, you know, to show that they belong together. Third…**

Gaara flinched at the images in his head. 'There is no way I am doing that.'

**Suit yourself boy, but you have yet to make Sakura yours.**

Gaara looked down at sleeping Sakura, sighing sadly. So then, Gaara hadn't achieved his dream quite yet, but he wasn't about to give up his wish, no way.

Beside him, Sakura let out a moan. She was in pain. She bolted upright, clutching her head, and swayed, starting to tip over. Gaara pulled her close as pain tears fell from her eyes.

"Gaara, it hurts!" she coughed a little, tasting blood in her mouth.

"Nekomata?"

"YES!" she cried as another sharp pain overtook her. "Make it stop, please make it stop!"

Gaara just held her closer, wishing he could make it stop.

Sakura continued to cry and moan, trying to fight Nekomata. She brought up more blood, spluttering it all over Gaara, and her awful headache rendered her completely useless, at anybody's mercy.

"Make it stop!" she cried out again, holding onto Gaara and hurting him with her claws. They had unconsciously come out. They began to dig into his arms. "Oh kami, please, please, somebody end this! Please, Gaara…" and with that, she fell asleep.

Nekomata must have given up again, and Sakura was always exhausted after battling Nekomata like that. The coughing blood was an attempt to distract Sakura, the headaches pointing to Sakura battling Nekomata for control of the body.

Gaara pulled Sakura into his lap and wrapped his arms around her, whispering. "I would do anything to make it stop."

_**(Oh Kami, I was actually crying while writing that part. SO SAD!)**_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kakashi looked at the window. Yes, Gaara was making this extremely complex, ruining practically everything. He felt the wind in his hair as he perched on the roof, waiting.

"I thought you didn't like to keep people waiting." Kakashi said as a chakra signature appeared.

"I am not late." The red head said. "Have you done your mission?"

"I ran into some…complications." Kakashi replied, "I can't get the Jinchuuriki away. It has grown, how shall I say this, attached to something."

"The only way you can save your daughter is to give us the Jinchuuriki."

"Yes, Sasori, I know."

"Then how will you save your daughter?"

"You said I could have Samehada, Isonade's subordinate, for he has the side-effects of a Jinchuuriki, but isn't any use to your, the Akatsuki."

Sasori nodded. "We need the Jinchuuriki tonight. The ceremony will be performed in a hidden cavern within the Hokage Monument."

Kakashi nodded. "I will get it there. Or else, my daughter will die."

Sasori turned to leave, but then remembered something. "Don't let anything disturb us while we remove the Bijuu."

Sasori disappeared, just like that.

Kakashi looked back at the window. Yes, Gaara was complicating things, but not beyond fixing.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata used Tsunade's special kitchen to prepare the food. Ever since she had brought Gaara that one tray of food, he had asked her, politely, to make him more. She was a good cook.

"Hey Hinata!" Naruto beamed, walking over to her. "Is that your cooking I smell?"

Hinata nodded, blushing. Naruto took a whiff. "I have said this before, and I will say this again, you will make one heck of a wife."

"Th-thank you, Naruto-k-kun."

Naruto nodded. "Why aren't you wearing the necklace?"

Hinata jumped and turned toward Naruto, eyes cast to the ground. "Y-yes, about th-that. Uhh…"

Kakashi walked into the room casually, a leaf in his hair. His eye crinkled as he smiled broadly. "My my, Hinata, what is that I smell?"

Hinata turned toward Kakashi. "Oh, it is a chicken with ramen noodles soup. I am also preparing cooked vegetables."

"For Gaara, correct?"

Hinata nodded. "I feel so bad, once this mission is over, he won't get home cooked food anymore. He so thoroughly enjoys it."

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Kakashi said, coming up and taking the spoon from Hinata. "Here, let me stir for a second."

"O-ok." Hinata stuttered, backing away. The only place she could really go was to sit next to Naruto. There she went, keeping her hands folded in her lap, eyes on the table.

Naruto watched Hinata, both completely unaware of just what Kakashi was doing with the soup. "Hinata-chan, are you alright?"

Hinata-chan?

Hinata looked up at him. Oh what was she going to do? At first, Hinata had been sure she was going to choose Naruto, but then she had met up with Kiba, coincidentally, and now she was torn again. These last two weeks had been especially hard on her.

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun, I'm f-f-fine."

Naruto nodded and smiled, giving her the Guy look. _**(According to some site that officially shows Naruto Episodes, Guy is actually how you spell his name, Mighty Guy, the subbers keep getting it wrong. It isn't Gai, but Guy.)**_ "So, would you like to go get some Ramen tonight? Ichiraku's is the very best."

"S-s-sure, Naruto-kun."

"Hinata?" Kakashi asked, "You want to come finish this, it is approaching a rapid boil."

"S-sure." Hinata got up out of the chair and took to the stirring the chicken soup. Was the broth a slightly greener shade than before? She had thought it was supposed to turn browner. Hinata sniffed the soup, but it smelled fine. Shrugging it off, she returned to adding stuff to the broth.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata carried in the tray to Gaara's room. He was lying on his bed, reading an article. Today was one of the days Hinata brought him food, so he made sure to be in his room when she came.

Hinata smiled and sat the tray down next to him, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He nodded toward her and reached for the food. Gaara beckoned for her to talk, because that was what she did.

Hinata starred intently at the wall. "Th-things aren't going well."

"Why not?" Gaara replied, too keep her talking. She brought him food, the most Gaara could do was let Hinata talk to him, right?

**Loving Sakura has turned you into a softie.**

'I will kick your mental butt any day anywhere.'

**Touché**

"I thought I had finally chosen one of them, but then the other does something to make me sway, and then when I decide again, the other one makes me sway, again! It is driving me nuts! I can't decide, I really can't!

"I mean, surely one would think this is simple, right? But, no matter how much I look at the situation, they both are so much alike. Kiba-kun can be serious when he has to though, which makes him a good leader in bad situations. Naruto-kun can get a little too excited and doesn't always keep a cool head, but neither does Kiba when he gets emotional. Like the time something happened to Akamaru."

Gaara nodded his head, not really listening. He was enjoying the taste of the broth, it was so enticing.

"So yeah…I really don't know what to do. Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun! IT IS TOO MUCH!" And Hinata plunged her face into her hands.

"You say more good things about Kiba than Naruto." Gaara observed.

Hinata looked up. "Huh? I-I d-do?"

Gaara nodded.

Hinata looked up at the ceiling, twiddling her fingers. "I…I guess I n-never really n-noticed."

Hinata left shortly after that, leaving the room in silence. Gaara finished the soup happily, and then continued to eat the vegetables and the small glass of milk. Lying back on his bed, Gaara's eyes suddenly started to droop.

**Boy, snap out of it, there is something wrong here!**

'Huh?' Gaara asked, 'Why is your voice so distant?'

**BOY! There was something in that soup. Snap out of it!**

'I have no idea what you are talking about.' Gaara said.

**BOY!!**

But Gaara couldn't hear Shukaku. His head was currently swimming as the lights began to dim and brighten at the same time, and everything started becoming fuzzy, every sense. Breathing became a hard task, and Gaara realized he couldn't move anything. The worst part of it was the fact that he didn't care.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura kept her eyes on the wall across from her bed. Gaara was over there, in his room. Sakura had just come back from eating dinner with Shizune, who insisted on eating meals with her.

Shizune had been acting weirdly lately. She had been spending every moment possible with Sakura, insisting on playing Shougi or just talking about random things. Shizune was good with scientific theories, so Sakura and she could get into an argument for hours, if they tried. Yes, Shizune was acting strange, and Sakura couldn't wrap her head around it.

Sakura returned her attentions to the wall. Where was Gaara? It was starting to fall to evening; dinner had been two hours ago, Gaara knew she was in her room, waiting for him, nonetheless. Where was he?

_I WANT OUT!_

Sakura grabbed her head, trying to make the pain stop by her own pressure. 'Cut it out!'

_MAKE ME!_

'Why can't you just accept things!?'

_Nekomata doesn't settle!_

Sakura winced at a particularly sharp jab. She fell to her knees and coughed slightly. A couple minutes later, with the pain in her head getting worse, Sakura started hacking. An hour later, when the attack finally ended, Sakura lay on the floor, every muscle in her body trying to restore its energy.

Blood spatter was everywhere. On the floor, there on the wall, some on her sheets, and all over Sakura's clothes. She squinted out the window, the sun had come out. Sakura gingerly touched her head, expecting the bruises that were there. She ended up clutching her head so tightly she left bruises hidden by her strawberry hair.

Sakura refocused on the wall. Gaara? He always seemed to know when she had an attack from Nekomata, he was always there. She bit her lip worriedly. Was there something wrong?

Sakura stood on shaky legs, using the bedpost as support, and held up a hand. She began to focus chakra. After working with Tsunade for the past couple months, Sakura had learned to control chakra, and had quite precise control over it. She brought her fist back and lunged at the wall, tripping halfway there and sliding through the wall.

She plunged through the wall, creating a huge wall right at the base of the floor in the wall. Sakura slid into the room along with all the rubble and lay on the floor for a few minutes, recovering.

The two guards burst into the room and eyed Sakura, drawing their selected weapons. They had no idea what Sakura was about to do. Then, one of them, the tallest, noticed something.

"Where's Gaara?" he asked.

Sakura jerked upwards and looked around the room, panicking. Surely he wouldn't have left without telling her? Well, ok, he would have, but not leave her alone for so long. She stood on her still shaking and trembling legs, bringing her gaze to rest on them.

"You will let me through that door, and you won't protest."

The older ninja began to nod. "But sir!" the younger protested, "She is in no state to attack us."

"You haven't seen this girl in action." The other one objected, "She took down three guard ninja while doped on enough drugs to kill a normal person."

The young ninja let his nun-chucks fall to the ground. Sakura shuffled past them, trying to get her lethargic muscles to move.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 _**(yeah yeah, cliffhanger again, please forgive me.)**_

Hinata sat at the table with Naruto, her hands in her lap fidgeting. Naruto had finished off three bowls of ramen and Hinata's still three thirds the way full, basically, four bowls. Naruto had been chatting in between bowls. Apparently, there were two blonde girls after Shikamaru, and cloud-envy guy was really starting to wonder if he could perform a jutsu to turn himself into a cloud.

Hinata swiveled in her chair when she heard a familiar bark from behind her. There, watching Naruto and Hinata, stood Kiba with his giant Akamaru right behind him. His mouth was open to the ground.

Suddenly, he smirked and took a seat on the other side of Hinata. "Hey, you two, what's up?"

"Not much." Naruto replied, his tone false-happy.

"You guys on a date?" Kiba asked, still playing it as his usual cheerful self. He ordered some Miso Ramen with pork.

"N-n-n-n-"

"Yeah, what about it?" Naruto asked, his teeth starting to grind.

"Well, shouldn't the girl at least be smiling during a date?" Kiba asked, thanking old-man for the ramen.

Naruto looked over at Hinata and noticed she had a worried expression on her face.

"Hinata? What is the matter?"

Hinata started to bite down on her trembling lip. Kiba and Naruto had never really liked each other, as could be seen when Naruto teamed with them on missions. But this kind of hatred was beginning to be too much.

"How about I take you for a real date?" Kiba offered, extending his hand.

Hinata looked at his hand while tears began to form in her eyes. This entire situation was just so wrong, too wrong, oh so wrong. Naruto placed his own hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"She is with me, baka."

"But obviously she isn't enjoying herself." Kiba shot back.

"Hinata was having plenty of fun before you showed up."

"Well she didn't notice me for a while, which means she was distracted, and she kept her head down the entire time."

"Hinata really enjoys spending time with me. She also likes the necklace I bought her."

Kiba's eyes flashed murder. "You bought her some necklace? So what, I have given Hinata much more than that, things that mean something."

They continued arguing, Hinata's steady stream of tears going unnoticed. They were fighting over her. This was really the last thing Hinata wanted, she didn't want them to fight.

Hinata let out a choked sob and all attention was turned toward her. Kiba's face fell, realizing what had happened, while Naruto just had a confused look about him. Hinata couldn't do this right now; she truly really couldn't do this.

She stood up and got off the stool she was sitting in and ducked under the restaurant flap. Hinata immediately ran into Sasuke.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked, "You seen dobe?"

Hinata pointed behind her. Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in. Within, Kiba and Naruto had gotten back into their previous argument. Sasuke just bashed the two's heads in.

"Dobe! Our mission is finally set in!"

Naruto turned to Sasuke in surprise. "Huh? Mission?"

"The Jinchuuriki mission! Our mission was to protect them!"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"They are both missing! The guards say that Gaara vanished first, and Sakura started flipping."

Naruto's eyes paled. "Oh…Why are you holding onto Hinata's wrist?"

Kiba spotted it to and started growling slightly.

"Because if you haven't noticed, during this entire conversation, she has been a little absorbed in her own thoughts, barely aware of what is going on around her. Here, you take her then."

Sasuke gave Kiba Hinata's wrist. "You get to come with us, let's go."

Naruto gave Kiba one last look before following Sasuke, with Kiba following Naruto, out of the ramen shop and to a little semi-empty square.

"Hinata, I need you to use your Byakugan to track down Sakura and Gaara."

Hinata snapped out of her reverie. "H-hai!"

Hinata's eye veins became visible. "Byakugan!" she started searching, time slowing down for her as she darted around the village with her eyes, looking. She caught sight of Sakura only a few blocks away heading toward the Hokage tower.

Hinata searched around the Hokage Tower, but couldn't find Gaara. But then, what was Sakura heading towards? The Hokage Monument? Hinata's eyes glazed over it, feeling for anything amiss. She almost passed it, it was so miniscule, but a small amount of chakra was coming from the third's nose.

"The Hokage Monument, somebody is inside the Hokage monument." Hinata told them hurriedly, "And Sakura is headed there."

"According to the guards, she was in no shape for a battle. We have to hurry."

And with that, Sasuke jumped away. Naruto was right on his heels. Kiba took a look at Hinata before hauling her with her, never relinquishing her wrist. They arrived at the Hokage Monument.

"Are there hidden caverns or something?" Kiba asked.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Well, how else would you get into the Hokage Monument?" Naruto asked.

"There!" Hinata pointed, at the eye of the second. "There is a device there, open it right and the Forth's headband will open. Open it wrong and the mechanism will close forever."

Sasuke went over to observe it. "I can't find anything, even with Sharingan."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura used a wall to support herself for a second. Her legs were turning to jelly; soon Sakura wouldn't be able to stand up. But she had to make it to Gaara, even though she had no idea where he was.

"Nekomata, help me!" Sakura whispered, pleading.

_And why should I?_

"Because you owe me."

_How do I owe you?_

"For years I have done what you said, given you what you desired, have done everything but give you my life. Now, it is time to return the favor."

A young couple passing Sakura gave her a weird look as she continued to talk to herself, panting heavily.

_I will not rescue Shukaku._

"Are you guys having some kind of feud?"

_Technically, yes. It took me a while to place the chakra signature, but I realized Shukaku was the only demon to have ever betrayed me._

"And I don't really care!" Sakura snapped, taking a step forward, and then another. "The only thing I want is Gaara."

_Why do you want Gaara? Tell me, and if the reason is worth it, I will help you._

Sakura paused. "Gaara…he has done so much for me in the short amount of time we have known each other. Without him, I would have perished beneath you, been swept away in the currant of your power. With him, I feel stronger, protected, and needed."

_You love him?_

Sakura's breath hitched. She had always read about love in those stupid books and magazines, but had never had the dream to love or be loved, she had only wanted peace. Gaara, however, had had the dream of being loved and loving somebody.

Did Gaara love her? Yes…Gaara loved her, he had sort of admitted it; he had called Sakura Love. So Gaara had achieved half of his dream, he loved something, but was he also loved?

"Yes, I love Gaara; I could not possibly live without him."

Nekomata nodded._ Prepare yourself for this._

Sakura fell to the ground as something warm and semi painful started at her stomach and spread through her body, sending shivers through her. Legs became sturdy and muscles replenished their energy, Sakura's aching head vanished, her senses became heightened, and everything around her took on a new perspective, a different light.

"What is this?"

_I have given my chakra, or as much as you can handle at your currant level. But, let me tell you this, there will be one hell of a punishment when this whole ordeal is over._

Sakura nodded. "I understand."

_Yes, you are a girl in love; you will do anything for Gaara. Gaara is directly in front of you, keep going, I will help you find him._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata approached the eye with caution and began to feel it with her hands, being careful not to press down on any of the triggers. The pupil of the eye was split into eighths, with the center being its own little trigger. Pressing down on one of the eighths would begin to lock in a combination, screw the combinations and the entire thing would lock up.

Hinata looked it over, trying to figure out which one should lock in which place, and how hard to press each slot. Nothing gave itself away.

"We actually have to have the combination to unlock this." Hinata told them. "My guess is that this was in planning from the moment the Hokage Monument was built. I knew there were escape tunnels along the monument, but this is a completely separate thing from that."

They all nodded and Sasuke went into brooding mode. "Which means the combination would have to be something the first used, right?"

Naruto nodded, not having the slightest idea of what anybody was talking about. Kiba went into concentration mode, Akamaru whining unhappily.

"This is one of those situations when we need Shikamaru." Kiba said sadly.

"What about a highlight symbol code?" Hinata asked, eyeing the structure. "A symbol will be highlighted by pressing down on the right ones, giving way to a symbol of great meaning."

Sasuke agreed. "Yes, that would probably make sense. I have a feeling the symbol highlighted will be a Sharingan comma."

"Why is that?" Naruto demanded.

"Because during the time of the fifth, the Uchiha Clan was the most powerful, followed closely by the Hyuuga's."

Hinata nodded her head. "Yes, which means, in order to match up with what the Sharingan would have looked like before evolution took place those many years, the symbol would look like this."

Hinata pressed down on the center trigger, one in the upper left corner, one directly across from it, and then stepped back. "The Sharingan only had two commas, and they were in that pattern."

"How come Sasuke's Sharingan has three commas?" Naruto asked.

"I only had two commas when I first used it, dobe. The Sharingan grows."

As Sasuke finished speaking, the four (or five with Akamaru) felt the ground tremble. Over the fourths headband, a gap came into focus, revealing a hidden passage.

"Here goes nothing!" Kiba shouted as they climbed into the passage.

The entire time they walked along the tunnel, Kiba didn't once let go of Hinata's wrist. He seemed inwardly scared, especially for Hinata.

"Do we have any idea what we are going to find in there?" Kiba asked, trying to stay positive.

Hinata shook her head. "N-no idea."

"Which means, we could both be killed? Actually, now that I think about it, I have no idea what this mission even is, other than the fact that you guys were hired to protect some mental patients."

Hinata sighed and spoke slowly so as not to stutter. "Tsunade-sama, leader of the medical hospital, especially the 'mental' ward, recently acquired new patients, two Jinchuuriki. She knew that one of them, the one with the demon Shukaku, was being targeted by a group called the Akatsuki. (sorry if I spelled that wrong). She hired us, as ninjas, to protect him, and the other Jinchuuriki if the Akatsuki happened to find out Sakura was also a Jinchuuriki with a Bijuu.

"We tried to get closer to the Jinchuuriki, gain their trust, in order to make it easier to help them. But they became attached to each other, and wouldn't really let anybody else in. Sasuke managed to break the walls of the second Jinchuuriki, slightly. I started a friendship, sort of, with the Shukaku Jinchuuriki.

"But somehow, the person who took Gaara did it without even being caught, even by the monitors. Now, it is our job to stop the Akatsuki from stealing the Bijuu before they can kill Gaara."

"Hmm…yeah, ok, I see." Kiba replied after pondering the information. "So now we have to go battle for this Gaara Jinchuuriki?"

Hinata nodded solemnly. "Y-y-yes, that is ex-exactly what we h-have to d-do."

They came out of the tunnel, aware of their surroundings, into a large cavern cave. Lying in the middle of the floor was an unconscious Gaara, a man standing over him with some sort of kettle. The man looked up, his eyes smiling, but his face calm and serene. His red hair was a brighter shade than Gaara's, where as Gaara's was blood red, this man's was cherry red.

"I hate it when people keep me waiting." He stated, not taking his eyes away from the Shinobi.

"What have you done to Gaara?" Naruto demanded.

"Nothing…yet."

"Yet?" Sasuke questioned.

"Once I take care of you, I will extract the Shukaku into the only thing that he will go into without too much of a fight, leaving me to do all the work. Once I take the Bijuu back to my organization, we will then harness the power of the Bijuu."

Sasuke took up a fighting stance, along with Naruto. Kiba and Hinata held back. "We can't let you do that!" Naruto protested, starting to form something in his right hand. "RASENGAN!"

And he charged, holding his fist out toward the man.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura made it to the Hokage Monument. _There_! Nekomata pointed over at the headband of the fourth carving.

"Sakura?" a voice asked from behind her.

Sakura whirled around, crouching into a pouncing position, her needle-claws at the ready.

It was Kakashi, and he was carrying a girl piggy-back style. Sakura recognized the girl as Aki, the one who had stopped Sakura from killing children. Later, after the incident, Sakura had thanked Aki.

"What are you doing here?" Kakashi demanded, his voice toned with worry.

"I am here to get back Gaara."

Kakashi sweat-dropped. Now Sakura was complicating things, but of course, he knew this would happen, he had warned Sasori that the girl would come after him. He had ended the conversation with an air of indifference.

"Let's go then." Kakashi said, leaping for the entrance. Sakura followed him.

"What is going on?" Aki asked into his ear.

"Don't worry about it, everything will be ok."

Aki gave him a worried look. Kakashi never told her anything, especially when it came to whatever it was he was doing for her.

Sakura followed them, staying only feet behind them, as they came out of the tunnel and into the cavern. As soon as they entered the cavern, Kakashi performed a hand-seal. "Body Flicker Technique!"

He disappeared from Sakura's side and reappeared hidden in a second entrance to the cavern. Only then, after telling Aki to stay exactly where she was, did Kakashi find out what was going on in the room.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Kiba were lying on the ground, having been thrown against walls after using all their chakra, with Akamaru and Hinata still standing. Hinata had worry and fear written all across her face as she stood against Sasori.

Sakura was still at the cavern entrance taking in the scene. Lying right behind Sasori and some sort of puppet looking thing, unconscious, was Gaara, his face contorted in pain. Sakura's breath hitched. She had never really seen Gaara in pain before.

"Iron Needle Rain!" Sasori stated, commanding his puppet with his blue chakra strings.

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms." Hinata shouted, moving her arms in motions so fast not even Kakashi could keep track of it.

Hinata fell to the ground, having used all of her Chakra on that last attack. She had protected her Kiba-kun and Naruto-kun, along with Sasuke, to the best of her abilities.

"Who are you?" Sasori asked, turning toward Sakura. "Kakashi warned me about you, I think…you are late, Kakashi."

"You will die." Sakura declared, spreading her arms out from her side to allow her claws to glint in the sunlight.

_There are dead bodies against the walls, only hours old._

'Why would he need them?'

_To remove a Bijuu from a host, you have to use sacrifices, especially when you are going for the temporary storage object._

'We can use them, can't we?'

_Of course._

"You will not leave this cave alive."

Sasori nodded. "I don't like to keep people waiting."

He raised his hands and twitched the fingers, commanding his puppet. It shot forward, headed straight for Sakura.

Sakura flipped backwards, avoiding the near attack, and darted forward, plunging her claws into the chest. She brought them out and swiped at the head, only to have the head suddenly gone and an arm in her stomach.

Sakura gasped for air as some sort of blade entered her stomach.

_Oh no you don't missy, I declared a long time ago that _I_ would be the one to kill you._

Sakura fell to her knees as something spread through her body, rendering her motionless. Suddenly, the numb feeling began to disappear, and she could feel the hole in her stomach closing. Shakily, Sakura stood up and went into a crouching stance.

"A Jinchuuriki? Why didn't you tell me, Kakashi?"

Kakashi remained silent. He felt a tug at his sleeve and turned around to find Aki. "What is going on, why are they fighting?"

"In order to save you, this must happen." Kakashi said.

Aki peered around the corner before Kakashi could stop you. "Why are there so many dead people?"

But Kakashi's words were cut off by something else. "Samehada, get out here!" Sasori called.

Samehada suddenly came into existence, materializing out of mist. He looked a lot like Kisame, actually. He had gills along his neck and on his cheeks, his chest was slippery and looked like rubber, toned with plenty of muscles, and his skin was a dark blue hue, like the night sky.

"Yes, Master Sasori?"

"Kill the girl."

"Hai, Master Sasori!"

He jumped into action, doing Taijutsu with Sakura. Sakura jumped back from his first punch and then sliced her claws along his stomach. Samehada didn't even wince as a greenish liquid came out, but continued to try and land a punch.

Sakura parlayed them with her own punches, blocked them with her arms, or dodged them. She found she could read Samehada's movements, making it easier to deal with.

_Focus on that body over there, the one with black hair wearing a bright kimono, and think about starting his heart._

Ducking a kick, Sakura did as she was asked. As she jumped over a low kick, she pushed Chakra towards the body, thinking of starting its heart, making its heart start, and then bringing it to life. _**(this technique has a name, but I don't know what it is.)**_ The body, following Sakura's commands, intercepted Samehada's punch and began to fight with him.

Sakura backed off, took in some air, and darted for Sasori, who had his puppet at the ready again. The good thing about sending a dead body to Samehada was that the body wouldn't stop fighting its heart gave away, which bought Sakura a few minutes.

"I said you were going to die!" Sakura screamed, ducking around the puppets attack. She kicked it from behind, sending it toppling forward, and brought a chakra infused fist, claws included, toward the puppet. It splintered to pieces, leaving behind nothing but rubble.

"So, you aren't just any Jinchuuriki, you are an upset Jinchuuriki." Sasori smiled, pleased. "Well, I do not have the same weaknesses that other Puppet-masters have, I can actually use Taijutsu."

Sasori shot forward, engaging Sakura with a flurry of arms. Everything seemed to fall into slow motion as Sakura became away of nothing but Sasori's attacks. His arm came to her jaw, she tipped backwards just enough to dodge the blow and brought up her leg, aiming at his jaw, as she continued to go backwards and land on her hands. Sasori took one step back and two forward, aiming at Sakura's back.

Still on her hands, Sakura spun around blocked Sasori's fist, capturing it with her two feet. Pulling him towards her, Sakura flipped him up into the air. Sasori grabbed hold of her ankle and pulled her with him. As he began to land on his feet, Sakura twirled herself in the air and tried to kick Sasori in the head.

He tugged her ankle, making her miss and his against his stomach. A pain shot up Sakura's leg as it went against a hard surface. She landed on her behind and looked up at Sasori. He didn't waste any time. He tried to kick her, but she lay back flat. Grabbing his foot, she spun him around in the air. She then lay back on her back and pushed her legs upward, hitting Sasori higher into the air. Sakura jumped up, aiming her claws at the helpless Sasori's chest. Her claws dug into him, meeting wood, and refused to come back out.

Two things happened simultaneously, with the body Sakura controlled with only part of her mind and Sasori moving at the exact same time, in perfect sync. Sasori's fist connected with Sakura's jaw, ripping her claws out of her flesh, while Samehada went flying from a punch in the mouth too.

Sakura felt her blood pour from her fingers, she could hear Samehada's labored breathing, she could smell all of the blood.

_WE CONTROL BLOOD!_ Nekomata screamed at her. _THIS MAN JUST PLAYED INTO OUR STRENGTH!_

"It's my blood!" Sakura cried out, everything vanishing as she smelled her own blood, felt her own blood. "IT'S MY BLOOD!"

_Snap it, or you will lose Gaara._

Sakura's eyes opened wide. She felt Nekomata take some sort of control of Sakura's body, more in a suggestive way. She influenced Sakura to move, but at any given point Sakura could have disobeyed.

Sakura rolled herself upward, rocking her back until she landed on her feet, and stood up. The blood still fell from her fingers, but it started to turn into liquid strands instead of individual drops. (_**idea taken from Vampire Knight**_). Sakura smiled evilly.

Fast as a cheetah, Sakura moved. Suddenly, she was behind Sasori, and he was wrapped in strings made from blood, her blood! Tugging and pulling, Sakura tossed him into the air!

As soon as Samehada hit the ground, Aki moved. Jaw injuries were extremely serious things. Kakashi tried to grab hold of her wrist, but was too slow. She fell to Samehada's side and started applying pressure to his jaw. It was broken.

"This is going to hurt." She told him. With crunching and grunts, Aki tugged and pushed and pulled the jaw back into its place. Samehada didn't show too much discomfort from the whole thing. She began to wrap it up using cast-like material to hold the jaw together, covering his mouth but leaving his nose open in the process.

She began to tend to his other injuries. He had older wounds that looked infected.

Kakashi watched as Sakura pulled Sasori into the air using her own blood as string and rope. When he was in the air, strings tied around his body to prohibit movement, Sakura punched him with everything she had, kicking him in the stomach and the head, bashing his legs and his arms, and disconnecting one of his ears, all in a matter of seconds.

Sasori fell to the ground, unconscious. She had struck his ribcage hard enough to disrupt organs, organs he needed to live.

Sasori was thrown against the wall near Kakashi while Sakura ignored it all.

As soon as Sasori's body hit the ground, Sakura's eyes found Gaara's body, unmoving. She fell to her knees and crawled over to him, touching his bare chest and moving upward, feeling around for broken things or serious injuries. She made it to his head and pulled it into her lap. Why wasn't he moving? What had happened to him?

"Gaara?" Sakura whispered.

"Sasori hadn't taken Shukaku yet, he should still be alive. It is possible he is in a coma like state, trying to repair the damage preparations did to him."

"This is your fault." Sakura cried, talking to Kakashi.

Kakashi sighed. "I know…I am sorry. You would do anything for Gaara, would you not?"

Sakura nodded, looking up at Kakashi.

"My daughter, she means the world to me. She is the only thing I have ever cared about. I didn't find out about her until she was three years old, her mother kept it a secret from me until I found out. Then, I found out my daughter, my Aki, had been hit with a curse jutsu right after she was born.

"The only way she could live past twenty-years of age was to have the love of a Jinchuuriki or Bijuu. The Akatsuki found out about my little dilemma and proposed this deal. If I helped them obtain two Jinchuuriki, by finding them and helping the Akatsuki get to them if needed, I would be allowed to have Samehada.

"Samehada is basically a subordinate who was given powers by Isonade, giving him the right powers needed to save Aki, but he wasn't powerful enough to be of use to the Akatsuki. Apparently, when capturing Isonade, Samehada attached himself to Sasori. This made Sasori his master, which gave him the privilege to do whatever he wanted with the subordinate. Sasori could easily give Samehada to me, and then he could fall in love with Aki, and her with him.

"They gave me an entire year to think about it, and I had never really seen Jinchuuriki as people until I met Naruto, so I hadn't figured out what I had gotten myself into until it was too late.

"You two provided the perfect opportunity. I transferred to the hospital, making up some crap story and compromising a couple things, and then Gaara became comfortable around me. After waiting until the moment was right, I drugged Gaara's food, the exact food Hinata made him. He wasn't expecting the drugs because he trusted Hinata in some weird sense, she is harmless after all.

"Now, Gaara lies here, and we don't know if he will wake up, because Sasori did something to try and separate the consciousness of Shukaku from Gaara's. It would have caused a lot of mental damage."

Kakashi fell silent as he looked at Gaara. Sakura's mind, however, was reeling. She looked up over at Samehada, who had Aki tending his injuries. So Aki was Kakashi's daughter, and Kakashi wanted to protect her. Sakura could understand that, it was the weakness of humans, to care about something.

Sakura looked down at Gaara. She cared for Gaara, she would do almost anything for him, to make sure he stayed safe, to make sure he was happy. Yes, she loved this man; she had fallen for the weakness of humans.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara was aware of intense pain during his numb state, his mind in complete oblivion. Something was putting a wall in between him and something, but he wasn't sure what it was. Then he felt an intense pain in his chest, like something was ripping out his soul, and then it stopped.

Time didn't seem to exist in whatever state Gaara was currently in. He couldn't feel or hear or smell or see anything, nothing at all…there was nothing.

Then, he heard a voice.

**Boy, are you there?**

What was that voice, who was it? It sounded familiar, like something Gaara had known his entire life, but he couldn't place what it was.

**Boy, I know you can hear me, reply.**

Shukaku, that was it, the voice belonged to Shukaku, but who was Shukaku?

'Shukaku?'

**Yes boy, it is I. I am currently dissolving the walls that Sasori person placed on us. Sakura is worried about you.**

Sakura, what was Sakura? A cherry-blossom, why would a cherry-blossom be worried about him?

**Just hang in there boy, your life is still incomplete.**

Incomplete? What was incomplete, what was life? Why was everything such a jumbled mess? Why couldn't Gaara remember where he was, or why he was here, or even what everything was?

Senses began to slowly return him. He could hear something that sounded sad, with several shaky breaths and sobbing cries. What was it? Then he felt something wet on his eye, something that reminded Gaara of…rain, yes, rain. What was rain again? He felt something touch his hair, and it felt good. He could smell salt and some sort of flower. Was that the cherry-blossom?

Ever so slowly, Gaara opened his eyes. There was a face looking down at him, some face framed in pink hair. Who was this? Was this the cherry-blossom Shukaku had spoken of?

"G-G-G-Gaara?" the face above him sobbed, talking to him.

Tears fell singly from the girls face and landed on his own. They were like beautiful liquid diamonds, the most beautiful things Gaara had ever seen. This Cherry-Blossom was extremely pretty, with her pink hair and green diamond-filled eyes, her lips parted as her breath came out in shaky hesitant breaths. Who was this cherry-blossom?

"Gaara, I love you." The girl stated.

The cherry-blossom loved him?

And everything within Gaara suddenly felt complete. Waves of memories crashed down upon him, never once disrupting the pleasant warm feeling coming from Gaara's chest, coming from his heart.

"Sakura?" he asked, lifting up his hand. He paused before touched her face, smearing the diamonds all over the place. He smiled softly, looking up into her eyes. "You are so beautiful when you cry, like you are made from diamond essence."

Kakashi smiled, happy to know everything was ok. He turned to look over at Aki, who was crouching over Kiba. Hinata was sitting beside Kiba, biting her lip with worry. Sasuke was starting to come around, but Naruto was still out cold, probably would be for a couple days.

Samehada was sitting upright, watching Aki with interest in his eyes. He was amazed that something in existence had been, well, nice to him. He had served Isonade for so long, and everything had run from his presence, but not this petite little thing with silver ringlets, the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

Everything was going to be ok.

_**There you go, Liquid-Starshine, since you requested Sasori, and I finally reached episode 22, so I finally know just how cute he is. Bet you guys didn't see any of that coming, right? Well, I didn't see it coming until Saturday, so yeah; I was just as clueless… Oh, and I didn't kill Sasori. Just so you know, I didn't kill him. He is too cute to kill! Sasori is even cuter than SASUKE! **_

_**Anyway, longest chapter yet, next one is Sakura's ending. After Sakura's ending, I might have one last chapter, I haven't figured it out yet, just depend, I guess.**_

_**Hope you all enjoyed it, sorry for some of the cliffhangers, sometimes I can't help it. Don't want to give too much away at once.**_

_**Something you liked? Something you disliked? Something you hated? Comments, criticisms, flames, and pointers are always welcomed in my review section, that I promise you. I never take things the wrong way…ok, fine…I do, but I try not to get carried away, and usually I only take things from a certain classmate of mine the wrong way, and then she takes things I say the wrong way, and then we get into a argument, and before you know it, we have caught onto the misunderstanding and respect each others different opinions.**_

_**So, Read it, Review it, Love it or Hate it, and ENJOY IT!**_


	11. Reward: Legend of the Tailed Beasts

**_All of this information was posted in a forum I ended up reading while searching for info on the Tailed Beasts, because I still didn't know which one to choose for Sakura. The owner of the forum said people could use the info, and I did, and I thought anybody interested in this story would like to know what I based my plot off of. So, here you go, info on the LEGEND OF THE TAILED BEASTS!_**

**_This is also a bit of a reward, for being patient, because I am having problems getting the last chapter done. It is so sad to end this story, and I have been (cough avoidng cough) doing the next chapter...TOOOOO SAAAADDDD!!!!_**

**Legend of the Tailed Beasts - Advanced Bijuu Directory**

Featuring the Nine Bijuus from the Japanese Legend and the tale itself, this is a brand fresh official collection of information.  
I had lots of trouble to gather this, but it's done! Thanks go to my friend Pato9, who helped translating.  
Part 2 revolves around this, so I might want to contribute and make you guys die below a pile of new theories that will pop after this. Enjoy!

**Legend of the Tailed Beasts**

In the ancient Japan, according to the legend, each elemental god was sealed into an elemental shrine. Out of the 9 Bijuu, 5 of them were elemental gods, those being Shukaku, of the Wind; Kyuubi, of Fire; Isonade, of Water; Raijuu, of Lightning, and Kaku of Earth.  
In the Legend of the Tailed Beasts, the 5 elemental gods were sealed with instruments called "**The Tools of Power**" (法器). Not all of them are known, and their translation may be not accurate, but all resemble a type of varied container (kettle, prison, altar, etc.)  
After researching for a while, I've discovered that the "**Tools of Power**" descend from the "**Eight Immortals**" from the _Chinese mythology_. They're deities who transfer their individual energy to each "Tool of Power", that is able to give life or destroy evil. Together, the eight tools are called "_Covert Eight Immortals_" (暗八仙); (Though only five appear in the Legend, and it may be a varied version of it). **The Immortals are:** Immortal Woman He (He Xiangu), Royal Uncle Cao (Cao Guojiu), Iron-crutch Li (Li Tieguai), Lan Caihe, Lü Dongbin, Philosopher Han Xiang (Han Xiang Zi), Elder Zhang Guo and Zhongli Quan.

**Personal Notes:** For a moment I associated the Immortal Woman to Sakura (insert snicker) and Iron Crutch Li to Lee, and even some of the others to characters from the Rookie 9 + Gai Team; but everything is too vague.

Continuing the Elemental Shrine story:  
There were respective shrines dedicated to these elemental Bijuu scattered through Japan's territory, being the Fire shrine the strongest. Though, the shines keep releasing spiritual energy even while the Bijuu are sealed within sleeping, and this power from the 5 shrines goes to the Five-Tails: Houkou.  
After Yamata no Orochi got the legendary sword Kusanagi no Tsurugi from the Kusanagi Clan, it defeated Nekomata and Houkou (Check Yamata no Orochi's tale).  
Yamata no Orochi then proceeded to release a tremendous amount of dark power to awaken the five elemental Bijuu, that were sealed in the 5 shrines, with the purpose of bringing chaos between worlds.  
It ended up fighting the one deserving of the title "King of Bijuu": Kyuubi no Youko. It has an unending amount of chakra, and because of that, Yamata no Orochi was defeated.

-----Bijuu Directory-----

**一尾 ****守鶴** - One Tail (Ichibi), **Shukaku**

As we all know, this is Gaara's demon, a wild, extravagant monster.  
**Jinchuuriki: Sabaku no Gaara (Extracted)  
Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Shukaku is a bijuu in the form of Raccon Dog (Tanuki of the Japanese mythology). Before, he was a priest that lived in the Desert of Nara. Because of the dark power released by Yamata no Orochi, and under the heavy assault of wind and sand, he transformed into a racoon dog (His actual form). He has a playful and extravagant personality, resembling the Tanuki nature. Has a pretty active sexual life. Shukaku lives in the souls of people killed by the wind and sand (This actually resembles the case of Gaara's mother). The violet (blue in the anime) tatoos represent his title of God of Wind.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 5 times; 1 Win, 3 Losses, 1 Flee  
**Wins****：** Sokou  
**Losses****： **Raijuu, Nekomata, Isonade  
**Escapes****： **Yamata no Orochi  
**Fate****：** Shukaku is defeated by a Nara Monk called Oraga Nakashimu with a type of magic art. Then, the monk proceeds to use the "**Tool of Power: Antler Teakettle**" to seal it into the seal in the Wind Shrine.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A species of Tanuki, Yellow body  
**Ability:** Sandstorms, has the control of Wind and Sand manipulation.  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 8th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****： **9th  
**Symbolic Element****： ****Wind (God of Wind)  
Origin / Discovered in****：** Nara Desert  
**Personal Notes:** Shukaku is represented as the reincarnation of a Sand Priest in the series (which would be the poor guy transformed by the Sand and Wind.)  
**More info about Shukaku:**  
_About Tanuki:__ (From Wikipedia)  
Tanuki have been part of Japanese myth since ancient times. The mythical tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absent-minded.  
__Tanuki in folklore:__  
The current humorous image of tanuki is thought to have been developed during the Kamakura era. The wild tanuki has unusually large testicles, a feature often comically exaggerated in artistic depictions of tanuki. Tanuki may be shown with their testicles flung over their backs like a traveller's pack, or using them as drums. Tanuki are also typically depicted as having large bellies. They may be shown drumming on their bellies instead of their testicles, especially in children's art.  
During the Kamakura and Muromachi eras, some stories began to include more frightening, man-eating tanuki. The otogizōshi story of "Kachi-kachi Yama" features a tanuki that clubs an old lady to death and serves her to her unknowing husband as "old lady soup". Other stories report tanuki as being harmless and productive members of society. Several shrines have stories of past priests who were tanuki in disguise.  
A popular tale known as Bunbuku chagama is about a tanuki who fooled a monk by transforming into a tea-kettle. Another is about a tanuki who tricked a hunter by disguising his arms as tree boughs, until he spread both arms at the same time and fell off the tree. Tanuki are said to cheat merchants with leaves they have magically disguised as paper money. Some stories describe tanuki as using leaves as part of their own shape-shifting magic.  
Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear a big, cone-shaped hat and carry a bottle of sake. Tanuki statues always have a large belly, although contemporary sculptures may or may not show the traditional large testicles. These exaggerated features represent fertility and plenty._

Two Tail (Nibi), **Nekomata**

**Nekomata, Female Form:**

**Nekomata:**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Nekomata is a bijuu in the form of cat, and possesses the power of death. This Bijuu lives in a place called "Forest of Death" (Not a mistranslation.) in Hokkaido, to the north. His appearance is a black cat monster (depicted with huge, black angel wings). He's the Death God's pet. Nekomata feeds on dead people's spirits, and can summon these to fight for him. He uses a third eye at the top of its head to consume the spirits.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Trying to dominate his enemies, Nekomata forms an alliance with Houkou, and attacks Kyuubi. They have a disastrous defeat, and Nekomata is rescued by the Death God, escaping death by a hair's breadth. Battled 3 times; 2 Wins, 1 Loss.  
**Wins****：** Kaku, Isonade  
**Losses****：** Kyuubi  
**Fate****：** Nekomata ends up killed by Kyuubi later, and in that instant his spirit is summoned by the Death God. The body was kept in a shrine in the Forest of Death, sealed by the Death God himself.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A species of two tails black cat, with slightly more pointed ears and bigger canines.  
**Ability:** Death; may control deceased person's spirits (May be related to Gaara) as well as different dark beasts  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 4th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 8th  
**Symbolic Element****：** Darkness (God of Darkness)  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** Hokkaido's "Forest of Devils" (Different of Forest of Death)  
**Personal Notes:** This better have had a female Jinchuuriki.  
**More info about Nekomata:** it is said it can walk erect. The original Bijuu was a old cat, depicted as a fat, old lady's image also.  
People knew of it, and in fear of having their cats turned into the monster, they cut its tails to prevent the transformation when the time came – a bifurcation. By gesturing with its tail (and walking erect), Nekomata can animate and control the dead to do their bidding, or even dance for their amusement. Sometimes it eats its owner, then changes into an human appearance, waiting for a next opportunity. Nekomata eats the person it hates, but if the person is even more wicked, the crueler the cat becomes. When it sees the person, Nekomata won't differ the bad and good anymore, and injures the person as much as it can. There is also a good Nekomata in the legend, that often turns into a young girl's appearance to approach the society; with a very docile nature, likes eating fish, has a beautiful body and likes depending upon others. Otherwise, the Nekomata's appearance becomes of a old woman, that displays bad habits in public and always has an air of dread around her; which if around people for an extended period can cause disease and pestilence.

Nekomata can also do other magic, but their most well-known and common power is that of animating the dead and manipulating them to whatever ends the particular nekomata wishes. A nekomata must be appeased by attention, food, and respect, and while many are fickle and turn their attention at a moment's notice, they do not tend to forget when they are insulted and by whom, holding grudges. To gain revenge, these nekomata usually controlled the tormentors' dead relatives, haunting them until the nekomata was appeased with food, apologies and attention.

---  
**No Image Disponible**

**三尾 ****磯憮 **–  
Three Tails (Sanbi),  
**Isonade**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Isonade is a shark shaped Bijuu with a sharp horn on the forehead. It lives in the deep waters on the West of Japan, fighting pirates. Every few months, Isonade will swim to the surface of the sea from the deep waters, to breath some fresh air. However, when he does this, storms erupt, oceans rage, and all ships will be swallowed by him as food. Isonade has a subordinate fish called Samehada (?) (Same name as Kisame's Sword. Depicted differently, but with same pronunciation). Samehada attaches itself to Isonade's stomach, and absorbs its food to create huge amounts of chakra, proceeding to send it back to its body. Samehada's power can enable Isonade to get 5 times the quantity of chakra it could originally get. Therefore, when Isonade battles, he will have unlimited chakra to receive from Samehada.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 4 times; 2 Wins, 1 Loss, 1 Flee  
**Wins****：** Kaku, Shukaku  
**Losses****：** Nekomata  
**Escapes****：** Yamata no Orochi  
**Fate****：** A fisherman and brave warrior from Yokohama, called Takuma Muramasa, sacrifices himself in behalf of two villages in a courageous act, getting near Isonade and sealing his personal servant Samehada in the "**Tool of Power: Pot of the Shark-named fish**" from seal in the Water Shrine. Isonade then becomes unable to draw the massive chakra, and ends up getting exausted and sucked by the Tool's seal in the Water Shrine as well.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A big shark/fish(?) with 3 tails and 3 fins. Has a dark blue body color, is attracted by blood (like all sharks); has a personal servant, a small fish named Samehada, as shown above, that is responsible to help Isonade absorb and digest Chakra in 5 times his original capacity.  
**Ability:** Generic water powers, can control the currents of water.  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 6th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 7th  
**Symbolic Element:** Water (God of Water)  
**Origin / Discovered in****： **Four Nanju Country Islands - Yawagawa Sea Area (*COUGH*Nanju is Kisame's Akatsuki Rank*COUGH*)  
**Personal notes:** Well, if this bijuu doesn't scream KISAME to you, then this note is indeed useful. The Samehada connection is frightening (absorbs chakra), but there can be more about it, explaining WHY Kisame's chakra reserve is SO big (as being the biggest in Akatsuki).

---  
**No Image Disponible**

**四尾 ****鼠鮫** -  
Four Tails (Yonbi),  
**Sokou**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Sokou is a bijuu that looks like a reptile. It was a creature that lived near Mount Fuji. Because of the toxic gas and the volcaninc ash, he was transformed into a half-rooster, half-snake monster. The Rooster and Snake are husband and wife in Sokou's body. Everything around it withers away or dies, because of its poison. According to the Legend, whenever he hibernates in Mount Fuji, the snoring he causes will make the volcano erupt.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 4 times; 3 Losses, 1 Flee  
**Losses****：** Shukaku, Kaku, Houkou  
**Escapes****：** Raijuu  
**Fate****：** Sokou was sealed by a master of demonic arts, called Yamazaki Ishiro, with the "**Tool of power: Netted Moon Cage**" to the seal in the Mount Fuji's base. Sokou becomes unable to send out his poisonous gas from the mountain for all eternity.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A four-tailed Rooster / Snake mixture. The lower part of the body is a Snake, while the upper part is a Rooster. Crawls instead of walking (Just like desert scorpions *COUGH*Hiruko!Sasori*COUGH*). Most of the body parts have an orange tone. Lives in the mount Fuji.  
**Ability:** Controls poison, poisonous gas, venoms, and so on.  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 9th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 6th  
**Symbolic Element****：** Poison  
**Origin / Discovered in****： **Close to Tokyo, Mount Fuji.  
**Personal notes: **Well, it indeed makes you remember of Sasori. Just a little.  
**More info about Sokou:** If you remember, Sokou is the oriental counterpart of the folklore creature Cockatrice. Sokou doesn't have wings like it, though.

Five Tails (Gobi),  
**Houkou**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Houkou is a bijuu which looks like a five-tailed dog. Each tail of this creature represents one elemental power: Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning and Fire. They can cause catastrophic damage when used. Houkou will willingly destroy the nature to obtain the power he desires from these elements. He was once badly injured when he and Nekomata challenged Kyuubi. Strangely enough, he is the god of Illusion. Houkou lives in a giant, ancient tree.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 4 times; 3 Wins, 1 Loss  
**Wins****：** Sokou, Nekomata, Raijuu  
**Losses****：** Kyuubi  
**Fate****：** After receiving a severe wound, Houkou runs away to one of Japan's islands, and hides in a place near Kyushu's Volcano - a giant tree, to heal his wound. But the tree's concrete position is not known by anyone.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A species of dog, with 5 long tails. Has a white coloured body. Each of the tails possess one of the five elemental powers, that used simultaneously can cause a big earthquake.  
**Ability: **Attacking using mixture of elements; Houkou is skilled in each kind of element ability, and can also create instantaneously each kind of natural disaster.  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 3rd  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 5th  
**Symbolic Element****：** Illusion (Being the god of Illusions)  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** Near one of Kyushu's volcanoes (Akase Lava Volcano, probably)

---

**六尾 ****雷獸** –  
6 Tails (Rokubi),  
**Raijuu**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Raijuu, a bijuu in the form of weasel, has four legs and very sharp claws. Its cry sounds like thunder. It was originally the god of Thunder, but because of Yamata no Orochi's power, it was transformed into a beast. Raijuu can release a huge amount of eletricity for battle assistance.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 5 times; 2 Wins, 3 Losses  
**Wins****：** Shukaku, Sokou  
**Losses****：** Houkou, Yamata no Orochi, Kyuubi  
**Fate****：** A ninja called Sarutobi (That's right, but we don't know if it's the series' Sandaime), in the legend, effectively eliminated Raijuu by using the technique "**Kinjutsu: Raikiri**". (Now the confusion starts. This is supposed to be Kakashi's move, but the way of writing may be different from the actual jutsu, and Kishimoto probably changed this legend to fit the story anyway). What actually happens is that the technique _counters the lightning released by Raijuu by cutting it_, making the beast receive its own attack, and become severely wounded. (Thus the name lightning edge.) He then is sealed by Sarutobi with the "**Tool of Power: Hidden Thunder Prison**" into the seal in the Thunder Shrine.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance: **A species of weasel with golden yellow fur. The whole body's fur grows upright. Its six tails take a lightning shape, (unlike the crappy image I have, but it's the closest to the legend) just like the ancient God of Thunder.  
**Ability:** Fire caused by lightning, Lightning Thunder, Lightning bolts, Lightning elemental magic arts; Raijuu may also fly about as a ball of lightning / fire.  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 5th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 4th  
**Symbolic Element:** Lightning (God of Lightning)  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** Underground the Thunder Shrine in a town in Kyoto  
**Personal notes: **If this is right and we go by speculation, then could Kakashi have battled with the Raijuu jinchuuriki before? Raijuu also resembles the Pokemon Raikou.  
**More info about Raijuu: **Raiju is also depicted as the companion of Raiden, the Shinto god of lightning. While the demon is generally calm and harmless, during thunderstorms, it becomes agitated and leaps about in trees, fields, and even buildings (trees that have been struck by lightning are said to have been scratched by Raiju's claws).  
Another of its peculiar behaviors is sleeping in human navels. This prompts Raiden to shoot arrows at Raiju to wake the creature up, thus harming the person in whose belly the demon is resting. Superstitious people therefore often sleep on their stomachs during bad weather. Other legends say that Raiju will only hide in the navels of people who sleep outdoors.

Shichibi (Seven Tails), **Kaku**

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Kaku is a bijuu in the form of badger. Its Kanji is also read as _Mujina_, which is the name the Japanese subspecies of **badger** (Meles Meles Anaguma) receives in some parts of Japan. It has seven tails, and is the smallest bijuu out of the nine; though it is the most cunning and stealthy. Kaku hunts its prey underground most of the time. It kills by _crumbling/destroying the piece of land that is under its target, making it fall right into his open mouth_. Above land, whenever he is around he can transform into any type of creature, but he is unable to do it if he doesn't have clay.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 4 times; 1 Win, 3 Flees  
**Wins****：** Sokou  
**Escapes****：** Nekomata, Isonade, Yamata no Orochi  
**Fate****：** Kaku's storehouse of clay in a hole is found, and is burned by warriors. Kaku is unable to transform, and is defeated by the brave warrior Ikkyo Soujin, who proceeds to seal it with the "**Tool of Power: Remnant Earth Altar**" into the seal in the Earth Shrine.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** Kaku is the smallest Bijuu. It has a blue color, and is good at using clay camouflage. Kaku is very difficult to bump into.  
**Ability:** Transformation (Henge), Clay, Earth elemental magic arts  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 7th  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 3rd  
**Symbolic Element****：** Earth (God of Earth)  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** Underground Sacrificial Altar in the Nagoya outskirts  
**Personal notes:** Resembles Deidara pretty well.  
**More info about Kaku:** Mujina (貉) is an old Japanese term for a badger. In Japanese folklore, these animals were avid shapeshifters, and one of the forms they were purported to take was that of a faceless ghost. This particular sort of monster is often referred to by English speakers as a mujina, but the Japanese know them as **nopperabou**.

Eight Tails (Hachibi),  
**Yamata no Orochi**  
(Also known as Hachimata)

**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** Yamata no Orochi is a Snake bijuu. It has crimsom red eyes, eight heads and eight tails (also depicted to having trees and vines growing around them) and has the power of the **Demon world**, a symbol of evil. Each head of Yamata no Orochi represents a symbol: _Soul, Ghost, Evil, Devil, Monstrous, Kill, The Afterworld and Death_.  
Its powers were originally weak, the members of the Kusanagi clan, when attacking it, acted carelessly, using the legendary sword **Kusanagi no Tsurugi** (Oro's sword). Because of that, as a consequence, Yamata no Orochi takes the sword from them, absorbing the power contained inside, and becoming an incredibly powerful creature, and finally storing it in its body.  
With the new power, Yamata no Orochi releases _an insane amount of dark energy_, awakening the other Bijuu and becoming arrogant. Yamata no Orochi proceeds to defeat many of the Bijuu, but when it battles with Kyuubi, it is defeated. The cause of this is simple: Kyuubi has an unlimited amount of power, _making even a hole in the Kusanagi sword_. As this happens, it shows how tremendously powerful Kyuubi is, deserving of the "King of Bijuu" title. Not even Sarutobi and Enma (I'm not sure how those two are into the legend) could scratch the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. (That makes connections to the Oro x Sandaime battle)  
Legend also depicted it as having a power able to rival Kyuubi's [in quality], but the fact is, Yamata no Orochi's does have a limit.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 5 times; 4 Wins, 1 Losses  
**Wins****：** Shukaku, Isonade, Kaku, Raijuu  
**Losses****：** Kyuubi  
**Fate****：** Yamata no Orochi awaits a genius of the Yagami (NOT the Kanji of Yagami from Death Note, but Yagami as in Eight Gods: 八神) clan, which is the arch enemy of the Kusanagi clan. The purpose is to awake it [Yamata no Orochi], in order to fight Kyuubi again.  
Since Yamata no Orochi's power inherits in the Yagami Clan, If the heir appears as the first genius in 1000 years that is able to awake Yamata no Orochi's ability, it will be completely restored. Once the process is done, the genius with such crucial task will be destroyed due to the true body of Yamata no Orochi resurfacing, which has an all-new power. It won't be found before the decisive battle with Kyuubi, and will be able to kill no matter of thing, destroy any type of place, and attain infinite vision (as Kyuubi has). The core of Yamata no Orochi's power is in a kind of forbidden sealing jutsu. _As soon as the Yagami clan heir comprehends enough of it, a bigger, much stronger power will surface in the grasp of Yamata no Orochi_.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** A super Snake of Eight heads and Eight tails, attached to a single body. Has a deep brown color. It definitely is the biggest bijuu - the lenghth of it is over eight mountains. Originally, it was weaker than Houkou and Nekomata; however, that was 1000 years before a brave warrior tried defeating it with the Kusanagi no Tsurugi. In the process, the sword's power is absorbed instead by Yamata no Orochi, thus greatly expanding his power. He continues though to be able to use freely the sword in his belly.  
**Ability: **The legendary sword: Kusanagi no Tsurugi; summoning of evil spirits  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 2nd  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 2nd  
**Symbolic Element****：** Devil  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** An old battlefield in Osaka  
**Personal notes:** Now, everyone knows this one resembles Orochimaru, but what I like is the "Yagami genius" legend, which OF COURSE screams Sasuke.  
**More info about Yamata no Orochi: **  
There is the story of the killing of the Eight-Headed Serpent by Susanoo. According to the legend, a local town had been living in fear of the Serpent, and the townspeople offered the sacrifice of a young girl each year to keep it appeased. Lord Susano heard about the town's dilemma, and became determined to slay the beast. He exterminated the serpent by serving it alcohol, and then cutting off its heads while it was intoxicated. Between the Kagura performances, this one is the most famous.

---

**九尾 ****九尾の妖狐** –  
Nine Tails (Kyuubi),  
**Kyuubi no Youko**  
(Nine-Tailed Demon Fox)

**Jinchuuriki:** Uzumaki Naruto  
**Tale in the Legend of the Tailed Beasts****：** This is a bijuu in the shape of a nine-tailed fox, and the strongest of them all. The reason he is so powerful is simple: Kyuubi has an unlimited amount of power, earning it the "King of Bijuu" title. The power is generated by Kyuubi's Fire Seal, and as a result, after battling for 100 years with Yamata no Orochi, it becomes exhausted; but Kyuubi continues standing, able to fight. It is also pretty cunning and smart.  
**Situation in the Ancient War of the 9 Gods****：** Battled 4 times; All of them victories  
**Wins****：** Nekomata, Houkou, Raijuu, Yamata no Orochi  
**Fate****：** In unclear whereabouts, Kyuubi continues to kill all the people on his way to find the one who awakened him, and the one who managed to seal him before. (That being Yondaime, probably) Yamata no Orochi didn't tell Kyuubi, though, that the one who awakened him was the Eight Tails himself.  
**Japanese Myth Appearance:** Kyuubi no Youko is the strongest (S Level) Bijuu of the Japanese Myth. Its body has a red fur; Kyuubi represents the element of Fire. Its abilities are incredible. Because it has never been defeated by any youkai, its total strength is unable to estimate. His tails create cyclones by spinning quickly, and Kyuubi proceeds to rip its enemies with its huge claws. At the same time his fur may shoot fireballs similar to meteorites endlessly, instantly destroying villages. In the ancient Bijuu wars, a challenge results in Houkou being severely wounded, and Nekomata nearly dying, but ending up being rescued by his master, Shinigami (God of Death). Yamata no Orochi depended on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi to fight Kyuubi, but was defeated and the _sword received a cracked ho_le, courtesy of our kitsune.  
**Ability:** Fire element attacks, Flaming claws, and other things depicted above  
**Bijuu Strength Ranking****：** 1st  
**Bijuu Chakra/Stamina Ranking****：** 1st  
**Symbolic Element****：** Fire (God of Fire)  
**Origin / Discovered in****：** Hidden Altar of Gods in Kobe  
**Personal Notes:** Interesting how he searches for the one who sealed him. Also, it would be nice if Oro was the cause of Kyuubi's awakening – the reason Kyuubi attacked the village may very well be because it's the place he was last seen.  
**More info about Kyuubi:** The Kyuubi is an intelligent demon that is capable of speech and has a scathing, sadistic personality. However he has also a sense of fairness and sarcastic honour, as he sometimes helps Naruto when he is in a difficult situation. This could be for purely selfish reasons, however, for it is speculated that if Naruto dies, then the Kyuubi will die with him. It seems likely that the Kyubi has some concept of a loathing respect for Naruto and even more so for the Fourth Hokage.


	12. Sakura's Ending

_**Well, this is it. I have been trying to avoid doing this chapter all day, but when it comes down to it, I know I have to write it. IT IS JUST SO SAD!!!! This chapter will effectively end the story, and then I will have a little epilogue afterwards.**_

_**(breaks down and actually starts crying!)**_

Chapter Eleven Sakura's Ending

Sakura watched the flowers in the coming light as they blossomed, soaking up the sun's warmth. She stood in the flower garden, a little part of the hospital grounds used for recovering patients. Sakura sat there now, contemplating life.

Gaara had achieved his entire dream only a month ago, had had fallen in love and been loved. Now, Sakura couldn't help but feel a small ache in her own heart, as if there was something missing. She had Gaara, she knew that if she didn't have him, she would surely perish, but she couldn't quite figure out what was missing.

Sure, life wasn't exactly perfect. Sakura still lived in a mental hospital, was continuously nagged by no other than Shizune, who kept acting more and more like a mother each passing day, ate crappy food she could barely keep down, and oh, had a demon living inside her.

_Don't go thinking negative thoughts about me._

Sakura ignored her. Yes, life wasn't perfect, but in so many other aspects, it was. So then, what was missing?

Her dream, her dream was missing. Gaara had achieved his dream of love, but what about Sakura's dream for peace? Love was great and all, it really was, and Sakura had only just learned how great love was, but love couldn't be enjoyed without peace.

_You are thinking about me again._

'Shut it!' Sakura growled, suddenly not in the mood.

_Puh-lease, you like talking to me._

'And you enjoy torturing me!'

_Correct you are, missy. In fact, I have an attack scheduled for today, but I won't say when._

'When will you learn that you aren't breaking out?'

_Who said I wanted out?_

Sakura's stream of retorts drew short. Nekomata didn't want out?

_In fact, I think I will make the attack a little earlier, by about a few minutes, which means…_

Sakura fell to her knees as the pain in her head knocked out all awareness. Sakura suddenly didn't know where she was, nor did she really care. What she cared about was that intense pain slowly getting worse, making it feel like somebody was prying open her skull from a million different places while shooting electric shocks up through her brain. She was too focused on that pounding and ringing in her ears and the weakness of her limbs to care about where Gaara was, he always seemed to know when she was having an attack.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara walked beside Tsunade. They were walking along a path that went along the edge of the hospital complex grounds, the wall/fence hidden behind trees.

"So yes, that is how the Kakashi situation is being taken care of." Tsunade finished.

"Basically, he goes on suspension and Aki is left to treat Samehada?"

Tsunade bobbed her head. "Correct. Kakashi is also no longer allowed to see you."

Gaara nodded silently. Kakashi had explained everything to everybody, from his daughter's curse to the deal he had made with the Akatsuki organization. He had told them all how wrong he had been, but he had been desperate, and was no willing to pay the consequences.

"How are you doing?" Tsunade asked.

Gaara shrugged. Recently, Tsunade has had to shift focus to some new patients who were showing signs of mind-bug problems. She had even gotten an Abarame expert in to help her out.

"How is Sakura doing?" Tsunade asked gravely, "Shizune has said that her condition is declining."

"She cuts her wrists every night, and I can't stop her." Gaara told her. "Nekomata seeks more and more blood. I have offered mine, but Sakura says the blood can't be offered. She tried to kill the security ninja a week ago, only succeeded in scratching him."

"The security ninja you speak of died of blood loss."

Gaara turned to her, surprise only showing in his eyes. "He did?"

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, we assume Sakura drained him of blood from the little scratch."

"That explains all the blood drawings…I couldn't figure out where she was getting the blood."

"How are the headaches?"

"Getting worse. They last longer each time, and Sakura says that the pain increases with every passing second."

Tsunade kept her eyes on the ground. "I don't know how to help Sakura. You were fairly easy, your demon compliant. I expected you to be more difficult, actually, because of the way you are bonded with Shukaku, but you have mastered a small level of control."

"Shukaku only wants to kill for the fun of it sometimes. He hasn't had the urge in a while; he has been too wrapped up in something a lot more fun and interesting. Have you figured out how the Bijuu was placed into Sakura yet?"

Tsunade shook her head. "Turns out, the Hidden Village that had Sakura's demon, I finally figured out which village it had once belonged to, they were keeping its presence a complete secret, didn't even know it was missing. They have been demanding that I give them Sakura, seeing as how technically, she would belong to them. I told them that a certain person wouldn't be ok with that. When I explained the details, they backed off.

"I fear that our Sakura will break soon. Nobody can go through what she does and survive."

"No," Gaara argued, "Sakura will last, I know she will."

**Trouble, boy.**

Gaara perked up, his entire body becoming alert, and he darted off, leaving behind a surprised Tsunade in the dust. He had to run all the way around the hospital before he made it to the flower garden.

Sakura was whimpering on the ground, no muscle in her body able to move, not even enough to hold her head. Tears fell freely from her eyes and mixed with the dirt beneath her. Sometimes she twitched.

Gaara crouched next to her and pulled her close, letting her sit in his lap. Nekomata wouldn't stop attacking for approximately two hours.

Gaara rubbed Sakura's back, somewhat easing her tense posture. "It's ok, don't worry, you will get through this."

"Gaara!" she whispered, her tone begging something, something Gaara couldn't do.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Aki watched from a window the scene below. Behind her, Samehada was so doped up on painkillers that he was unconscious. She turned back to him and began to replace bandages. He had taken more injuries than he had been aware of when he had fought Sakura a month back, and he was still suffering from the injuries.

Aki sighed as she finished the bandaging. When she turned back to the window, both Gaara and Sakura were gone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Is it over?" Sakura asked, bleary-eyed. She sat up and noticed she was in her bed, Gaara was pacing her floor.

"You fell into unconsciousness, sort of." Gaara explained, looking over at her. "You never stopped moaning though."

Sakura blinked a couple times, trying to come back to reality. She still had a feint echo of her headache. "I don't taste blood." She commented.

"Nekomata must have forgotten."

Sakura sighed and lay back down, turning her back to Gaara and starring intensely at the wall. Sakura knew something that she never wanted to admit to herself, she couldn't take much more of this.

Gaara noticed her detachment and went to sit next to Sakura, placing a hand on her upper arm. "Sakura?"

Tears came unbidden from Sakura's eyes. "I can't take this anymore." She whispered in a scared and worried voice, "Nekomata is going to kill me."

"That won't happen."

Sakura flipped herself over and looked up into Gaara's jade eyes. "Yes…it will happen. I can't take the pain anymore, I can't take Nekomata, I can't take the inner turmoil, I can't take the blood, and I can't take the chaos. Gaara, you have always wanted love, correct?"

Gaara nodded.

Sakura pulled her eyes away in a measly attempt to hide. "I want…I want peace."

And then Gaara understood. That was what this was all about. Sakura couldn't achieve her dream with Nekomata being inside her, especially with Nekomata doing these things, trying to take 'revenge' on Sakura.

"You want Nekomata out, correct?" Gaara asked, trying to take in Sakura's words.

She nodded sadly.

"You are aware that a Jinchuuriki dies when a Bijuu is removed?"

Sakura nodded again, compressing her lips together.

"How will you do it?"

Sakura reached her arms out and grabbed Gaara's leg, using it as a weight so that she could pull herself close to it, snuggling into the leg. "The only way is to give up."

"Let Nekomata take full control?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, let her have absolutely everything. Not just full control, but full consciousness, her full power restored to her. Once that happens, Nekomata won't be able to stay in my body; she will be forced to be free. She will have to leave my body no matter what."

"Killing you." Gaara stated, his voice void of emotion. His eyes were closed, so that not even they could portray and betray him.

"Yeah."

Gaara's hand found Sakura's and squeezed it tightly.

Life without Sakura? That was what Sakura was doing, giving Gaara life without her. But, Gaara couldn't just tell her no, now could he? She was basically asking his permission, begging him to let her do this, to accept it, to let her go. Gaara really couldn't do anything else. Sakura had helped him achieve his dream of love, shouldn't he, out of love for her, help her achieve her dream; even if it means letting go of his, partially? He would always love Sakura, whether she be dead or alive, and she would probably love him, whether she was dead or alive, Gaara just wouldn't have her beside him.

No Sakura in his arms while she slept pressed close to him, using him and nothing but him as a pillow. No more Sakura to help through her pain. No more Sakura randomly reciting whatever comes off the top of her head. No more Sakura to take out in the rain as she enjoyed it profusely. No more Sakura to feel while she clutched his leg in desperation. No more Sakura to _kiss_.

"I guess that is better than dying by Nekomata's hands."

Sakura smiled, trying to be happy while on the inside she was a mess. Gaara had basically said yes, do it, I accept this, I give you permission. Gaara had said that he loved her enough to let her be happy, wherever that dream might take her.

"Thank you!" she whispered.

Gaara just held her close him, breathing in her scent. Sakura stayed silent, actually enjoying the silence.

**Boy, you can't let a mate go without actually mating with her!**

'I can't _mate_ with Sakura; she is too fragile for that.'

**At least mark her then, mark her as your mate so that her body will always be claimed as yours, so that her soul will belong to you, so that she will love non other than you.**

Gaara looked down at Sakura, whose eyes were closed peacefully. She was exhausted, could she really handle that right now?

**Now might be the only chance you get.**

Shukaku had a point. He knew that Sakura planned on letting Nekomata go, by not resisting, the next time she attacked, which would be probably sometime tomorrow, if not tonight. But, could Gaara bring himself to do it? To forever seal her to him?

**She won't live for another day…**

Why did Shukaku have to sound so freaking reasonable for once in his life?

Gaara lay Sakura down on the bed and crouched over her so that he body lied just under his. Gaara supported himself with his hands and knees and bent down to her, taking in everything. Her scent, her serene face, her calm posture; Sakura didn't look like this very often.

Gaara's face came even close to hers as he continued to struggle with his debate. He tried to argue that Sakura was asleep, except that she wasn't. She was too tired, but she was always tired. He couldn't come up with anything that could make him stop.

His lips touched hers gently, hoping that she really was asleep. But, Gaara felt Sakura move beneath him as she noticed the contact. The not-even-a-kiss turned into one as Sakura melted beneath him, her arms around his neck trying to bring him closer.

They broke when Sakura decided she needed air, gasping in surprise when Gaara's lips touched her neck. Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, it felt so good.

Gaara debated a few more seconds before sinking his teeth into her neck. Her eyes fluttered open in response and her mouth opened into an O. It hurt; sort of…Sakura couldn't decide what it felt like. There was the pain of the bite, which was really nothing at all, and then a burning sensation that began to go in waves from the bite spot and moving outward along her neck. That kind of hurt, but the burning felt good also.

Gaara pulled back, removing his teeth, and looked at Sakura. Her eyes were glazed over, trying to take in everything that was happening to his neck. She could now feel peculiar distinct sensations, like somebody was writing on her skin, tracing out a certain pattern.

Gaara looked over at her neck, watching the pattern. It was a bright pink color, the exact shade of Sakura's hair, and it was etching a complicated pattern. (_**I might draw it, since I love patterns, and post it in my profile. Check back for it, I might work on it this weekend!**_) Gaara couldn't help but smile.

Sakura's stomach fluttered with happiness, something like, satisfaction and pride. But these weren't her emotions, were they? She felt…surprise, and wonder, and confusion.

**Forever bonded in a way no two things can ever be bonded.**

Gaara's 'invisible' eyebrow rose. He looked down at Sakura, whose surprise was starting to roll of her body. Gaara could practically feel it. Likewise, Sakura could practically see the amazement coming from Gaara.

"W-what just happened?" Sakura asked nervously.

"I love you." Was all he said, his lips brushing hers.

A knock came from Sakura's door. Gaara glanced at the door before dissolving into sand and disappearing, leaving Sakura alone in the room. Panicking about her neck, Sakura lay down, her neck covered by a pillow.

"Come in!" she shouted in a rushed voice. Too much was happening at once.

She peeked over as Sasuke came in, eyes on his feet. He looked up at her, sighed, and sat on the bed, his eyes lowered again.

"I…I was given you the mission of telling you just who we are." Sasuke said, "But first, I wanted to…" he seemed to struggle with the right words, "Uhh…I guess I wanted to…apologize."

"For what?"

Sasuke showed hints of blushing. "I…thought you liked me and I got…carried away." He sighed again, this time in embarrassment, and returned to his original mission. "We aren't actually Chunin sent on a mission to do research about this place. We were hired by Tsunade to protect you and Gaara and to make sure that…what happened a month ago didn't happen again."

Sakura nodded, still looking at Sasuke out of the corner of her eyes. "Sorry we lied to you, but Tsunade wanted you guys to trust us and think us harmless…

"Sorry."

Sakura shot up. Sasuke had actually said the word 'sorry?' Even from the beginning, she had marked him as one with too much pride to say such a thing.

His eyes came up to meet hers, and then they turned to her neck. "What happened to your neck?" he demanded.

Sakura's hand shot up to her neck. How could she answer when not even she knew? "Uhh…"

Sasuke leaned in to get a better look, his eyes angry. "What did you do to yourself?"

Sakura suddenly had a great idea. "Nekomata!"

Sasuke shook his head and got up. "Nekomata will kill you, does she realize that?"

Sakura shrugged as Sasuke left, muttering about apologies and markings. She couldn't help but notice that Sasuke's shirt didn't quite cover up the marking on his neck.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I brought food!" Shizune beamed, carrying in a tray of food. "It was meatloaf for dinner tonight, and I know how you hate it, so I made a stir-fry with mushrooms."

The tray had two dishes loaded with stir-fry, two cups of milk, and a bowl of fruit. Shizune handed Sakura her portion and began chatting, so that Sakura wouldn't have to.

"According to Kakashi, who I keep in regular correspondence with, just because, Samehada and Aki are getting closer. She spends a lot of time healing his wounds, which are healing especially slow for some reason. Aki thinks it is because Isonade is dead or something like that. Aki might not die!

"Then, I hear there is this newer intern who has fallen for one of the asylum patients who is so completely crazy that he thinks his fork is his wife. Some kind of mind-takeover Jutsu gone wrong, completely scrambling his memories and brains.

"Tsunade thinks her mind-bug patients will come out ok. Turns out, the mind-bugs were in heat, so they started thinking that some parts of the brain were…you know…mates, and now the whole mess is slowly returning to normal while Tsunade attempts to heal the brains.

"Why do you have a piece of cloth over your neck?"

"Nekomata." Sakura mumbled, "The flowers bloom nicely at this time of your, but I miss the rain."

"Well, Konoha gets a rainy month every three, so just a few more months away."

They fell into silence. Sakura could sit in a room with Gaara and not die from not talking, she proffered to talk, it was natural, but she didn't have to. This silence, even though it had only just started, was about to kill her.

"I guess I will see you tomorrow?" Shizune asked, her face lit up in a false smile.

Sakura nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

The truth was, Shizune might not see her tomorrow. Shizune touched her hand to Sakura's shoulder before getting up. "Good night!"

Sakura watched Shizune leave, a weird feeling beginning to form in her stomach. Hadn't Nekomata described this as guilt?

_Shizune loves you, you know. She has treated you like a daughter. Being a demon vessel, though, there are some things that she couldn't do, but she wanted to. Because you were never sick, she couldn't sit by your side and hold you while you puked, or tuck you in bed, take you shopping, but she loves you like a mother loves her daughter._

'You are only trying to get me to not give up.'

Nekomata mentally smiled. _Just wait, little girl, I will give you so much pain in my passing that you will wish you had never been born._

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Gaara could feel the guilt from the opposite room and transported himself there, materializing right in front of Sakura. She was sitting on her bed, her feet dangling off the side, thoughts in a far off place. She felt guilty.

Sakura turned her head up when she felt worry coming from above her. What was Gaara doing here? Why was he worried?

"Why are you worried?"

"Why do you feel guilty?"

"How do you know I feel guilty?" Sakura shot back defiantly.

Gaara sighed and sat beside her, lifting one hand up to take away the cloth covering her neck, the other brushing the pink design there.

"This?" Sakura asked, her hand covering Gaara's.

"I am going to lose you after barely having you. I…I wanted…"

Sakura smiled. She understood. "Do you think that I can do the same thing for you?"

Gaara shook his head. "Only the male demons. But, here." Gaara held out his arm.

Sakura traced the red pattern, the color of dried blood, on his arm. When had that gotten there?

"While you were talking with the Uchiha and Shizune, it began to appear. The two marks bind us together forever. I feel what you feel; you feel what I feel, and so on."

Sakura couldn't take her eyes of the design. It was so, intricate, and stunning, and peaceful.

"Can we go out on the roof?" Sakura asked, her finger not leaving his arm.

Gaara didn't nod, but willed them into sand. They came out on the roof while Sakura took in one giant breath. She turned to look up at the stars. She really did feel guilty, about leaving a life where it had only just begun, leaving behind so many things, but she truly couldn't take anymore of the pain Nekomata was causing. Nekomata would win, and Sakura accepted that.

_As long as you accept it._

Sakura winced as Nekomata punctuated her sentence with a sharp pain. She instinctively tightened her hold on Gaara's arm.

_I want to punish you beyond punishment, for some of the things you have done to me. You ruined quite a few of my plans for you. I was forced into this body, forced to bind and bond with you while you were only five. Your life began over then, you were reborn, you lost every one of your memories, and then they set you lose._

Sakura winced some more and gripped harder, her other hand tugging on Gaara's shirt.

_That family found you, you know. All alone, wondering, hungry and cold, so they took you in and fed you. While cutting a piece of the chicken, the father gave himself the tiniest cut, barely noticeable to even him, but I could smell it, practically taste it. It drove me nuts._

Images flashed before Sakura. A man with a bit of weight cutting the chicken with a sharp knife, he didn't even realize when it grazed him, but Sakura could see the not even bead of blood starting to form.

_I was new to the body, but I couldn't control my lust, I never did learn to either._

Blood, so much blood. Sakura felt herself pick up a butter knife and stab the person who sat beside her, a teenage boy. The second boy spun around wildly and lunged for Sakura. She nimbly side-stepped him, a blank expression on her face, and stabbed him to. The others went wild as the father tried to grab Sakura. She ducked beneath him, plucked the knife from his hands, and stabbed him in the back, pulling the knife back down.

There were still others as she killed them mercilessly, but never once letting the blood touch her. Nekomata was in almost full control, Sakura had just enough of it to keep all the blood away from her. In the end, she sat huddled against the wall, panicking, and watching the blood come near her.

_If only you had accepted the blood that day, if only you hadn't hated it. Blood is the power of human life, with it, one can gain so much power. But you insisted on staying weak, keeping me weak, and you ruined my plans. I wanted to dominate, but you kept us back._

A police-ninja found Sakura, all alone, and disappeared with the whimpering child before anybody else could see her. He kept her in his apartment for a few days, trying to get her to speak, to tell him what had happened. Sakura refused to speak, until the one moment.

He accidentally ran into a door, not watching where he was going while reading some sort of book, and his nose began to bleed. Sakura's eyes had lightened with a new fire, had become something to fear.

He had left a piece of string on the table, one of those ninja wires, and in a blink of an eye, she had cut one of his legs and was cutting his neck. Nekomata had more control this time, and the blood came freely, splattering Sakura's clothes. The man somehow managed to overpower her and hit her on the head.

All the while, Sakura was screaming about the blood.

_He took you to that stupid hospital, where Shizune began to care for you. There, your fear of blood grew, and you continued to stay weak, even though I taught you to love blood, to embrace it, to befriend it, but what did you do? You somehow retained the fear of memories repressed, and I couldn't break it._

_Would you like to see those memories, Sakura? The memories that were locked away with me, only to be viewed if I let you see them. They are the memories of before I was placed in you, before I was sealed in you, the memories of why you are what you are._

Sakura's legs gave away. Why was she fighting Nekomata? She was supposed to be giving Nekomata full control, but she was still fighting, and now every part of Sakura was on fire. She had to stop fighting, but she couldn't as the memories came, sweeping Sakura up into a whirlwind.

There she was on the ground, a helpless little three year old, blood coming from her mouth. Her entire body felt bruised, and one of her arms was broken. She felt something blunt hit her stomach, forcing up more blood. Then she felt something sharp enter her stomach.

Sakura looked down at herself. Blood was coming from the wound, soaking her shirt and her body, bringing so much pain, too much pain. Blood came from her mouth, the taste bile and metallic.

Sakura decided right then, she hated blood.

Another scene unfurled before her. This time, Sakura's hair was longer, signaling approximately a year. She was someplace cold, so cold, the wind nipping at her showing skin. A man came forward, his eyes crazed, holding a knife dripping with blood.

He came toward Sakura, his intent to clearly stab her. In order to protect herself, Sakura placed her hands in front of her. The knife blade went straight to the bone, but Sakura didn't scream. She stood, horrified, as blood began to drip from her arms, covering the white stuff at her feet.

The man moved on, leaving Sakura alone. Footsteps from where the man had come from made Sakura bolt. She didn't know where she was going, but her feet took her along a route they knew well.

The man from the first memory was there and his fist connected with Sakura's stomach, bringing even more blood.

The last memory began to fade in, revealing to Sakura the day Nekomata was placed into her. A vase like object similar to the one used to hold ashes of other people was brought forth, a strange cat-like symbol etched on a plaque.

"We have waited so long to find a jinchuuriki that would work for our demon, and this one comes straight to us." A voice that reminded Sakura of evil genius scientists cackled. This man was to be taken seriously.

And so Sakura's body was enveloped in more pain than she had ever felt before, and everything but her identity seemed to be stripped from her.

_That is how you made us weak! You kept your identity some how, and you made us weak! You don't even have the means to escape this hospital by yourself! Now, you will pay for everything. I won't let you just set me free, I will tear myself from you!!_

Everything began to go black as the pain increased tenfold every minute, her hold on Gaara becoming tighter, stronger, more desperate. He could only grit with the pain and hope Sakura didn't break any of his limbs.

Then, she passed out. Gaara began to slowly panic, wondering what to do. He couldn't leave Sakura's body, but he couldn't take it with her. Turning her into sand unconscious would cause devastating consequences if she woke up mid travel.

"I will get help." A familiar voice said.

Gaara turned to see Kakashi disappear.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sakura felt nothing but the pain. Not everything was physical; some of it was mental too. The mental stab of knowing who she was, even though she had never cared before, the mental pain of knowing she had done horrible things. And then, the physical pain of her every vein burning, her blood a rapid boil, her ears paining, her heart aching, her lungs itching, her stomach queasy, her limbs numb, her muscles screaming, everything was becoming too much.

Nekomata bathed Sakura in pain while making her escape. Sakura would have to give up any moment, would be forced to let go, because a body can only take so much pain.

Sakura did it, she let go, she stopped fighting, and everything was left cold and numb. Blood froze, her lungs and heart stopped moving, muscles seemed nonexistent, limbs didn't work; nothing lived.

Nekomata broke through the barriers of Sakura's body, freeing herself into a spiritual form. Free of the girl, free to find her own host, free to dominate what she wanted to dominate, FINALLY FREE!

Nekomata felt a tug on form, pulling her in a certain direction. What was this pulling? Where was it pulling her? Nekomata fought against it, trying to go in a different direction, but the pulling was stronger. Against her will, Nekomata was dragged away, her freedom gone.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tsunade and Shizune rushed to the roof, following Kakashi. Nobody questioned how he knew about Gaara and Sakura, or why he was even at the hospital. They would deal with that later.

They made it to the roof and Shizune screamed. Lying on the ground was Sakura, motionless, dead. Gaara kneeled beside her, his hand holding hers. Through their little 'bond' he had felt the emotional trauma assault her before she died.

Shizune ran over, pushing Gaara out of the way without even meaning to, and kneeled beside Sakura. "Sakura? Oh Sakura? What happened?"

"Nekomata broke free." Gaara answered for her.

Shizune could feel the stinging of her eyes, knowing tears were about to fall. Sakura was truly dead? No, Shizune couldn't accept that. She would give her life for Sakura if she could, just to bring her back.

"There is nothing we can do, Shizune." Tsunade said in a sad tone, "If there was, I would do it. She is dead; you can not bring back the dead."

"You can exchange a soul for a soul." Kakashi said, trying not to make it sound like he was suggesting something.

Shizune's head perked up. "I once heard about this technique. One basically places their life energy into the other, healing even the most fatal wounds."

"Shizune!" Tsunade warned.

"She is practically my daughter, Tsunade!" Shizune cried, holding onto Sakura's hand. "My life has been spent caring for her, and that mission will end with this one final act. Sakura still has so much to experience, especially with Gaara. I can't let her die like this."

Tsunade sighed, breathing heavily. "I can't, by regulations, allow another medic to give their life for a patient. As long as I don't know anything about it, I can not stop it."

With that, Tsunade turned around and walked away.

Shizune smiled a sad smile and turned back to Sakura. Blue chakra lit up her hands and ran over Sakura's body.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

What did it feel like being dead? That is the thing, it didn't feel like anything. One just sits there, condemned to forever play back their life, over and over again, cringing at the horrible mistakes, laughing sadly at the happy moments, and crying desperately during the sad ones. All alone, forever, until one was spun back into the picture, maybe, to live again, for a second chance, perhaps?

Sakura got to see it all, again, all those painful memories that had been repressed by Nekomata. She was allowed to replay every moment of blood, every moment of pain, and every moment of torture.

Then there were the moments with Gaara, the ones that made her cry on the inside as she watched them flick by. It made Sakura wish that she hadn't given into Nekomata, that she was still alive to feel the warm embrace of Sakura.

And then, just as suddenly as she had gone to the place where one spends eternity with their memories, forever, she was jerked out again. Pain enveloped her, but it was a stiff sort of pain, and she couldn't move, not even open her eyes. It all felt so strange.

The memories came back slowly, making Sakura relive it all just one last time, while Sakura's body tried to work itself out. Lungs began to move, the heart began to beat, blood began to flow in veins, and organs started working.

"Sakura?" a voice asked in her ear.

Sakura knew it was Gaara's voice, but she couldn't respond. What was that heavy cold thing restricting her movement?

Sakura's eyes fluttered open and she winced in the pale light of the moon. Gaara was leaning over her, his face impassive and uncaring. Sakura knew better, she could practically feel the relief coming from his body, coming from his heart.

"Shizune." Gaara said.

Sakura angled her head to look at what was on top of her. Shizune's body, was it really? Shizune's face was smiling for some reason, and Sakura felt a pang in her heart. It was her first emotion while being alive again. This feeling was one of thanks, of love, of guilt, and of sadness.

Watching the scene, Kakashi smiled.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Nekomata fought against the metal container holding her. How had she ended up back here? She had thought that while being with Sakura, she would never end up back here.

"Well well well, look at who escaped?" a sinister voice said to the container, "Did you kill the girl? And we were sure she would make us proud. This time, we will pick a jinchuuriki that will dominate even your wild spirit, Nekomata."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**And that, my dear friends, is the end. I kind of hate how I seemed to rush everything up to like, words three thousand, you will have to tell me if I rushed it or not.**_

_**Don't despair quite yet, though, for I am going to write an epilogue, labeled "Hinata's Ending." We will also get to see what happens to Aki too!**_

_**Sorry about the death scene, I wasn't sure how to do it. I am not religious ^(I have some serious talk about the whole religion thing, I could go on for hours), so I didn't really want to do an 'all demon-vessels go to heaven' kind of thing, because one, Naruto doesn't sound like a religious show, and two, I would never be able to pull that off. Three: I practically have no take on death what so ever, it is something I think about, but when forced to write death, you kind of come up blank, don't you? So, sorry for you religious people out there, I would have loved to write Sakura's death more angelic, and if you want to rewrite her death, go right ahead, I seriously don't mind.**_

_**Also! In about a month, I am going to go back through this story and edit it. I will fix some things; add some pieces in the earlier works, etc.**_

_**Check my profile for update statuses. After I finish the epilogue of this, I will start working on two stories. Another Naruto story, and then my Shugo Chara Naruto crossover. This entire weekend (in between hockey games since I have a tournament) will be spent preparing and planning my new Naruto fic.**_

_**Adios, I hope you all enjoyed the story!**_

_**Loved the story? Let's hear why! Didn't like the story? Let's hear why? Can't decide if you like it or not? Let's hear why! I just want you to hit that review button, yeah, the one right down there, and then start typing, cause I love hearing from you!**_


	13. Epilogue: Hinata's Ending

_**Well, this is basically dedicated for Fanoanime because he/she said that they really wanted to find out who Hinata chose…so while I write this I think I am just going to flip a coin to decide, because I am totally torn. Kiba…Naruto…Kiba…Naruto…**_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata sat at the table of Chouji's favorite barbecue restaurant. She had asked, or practically begged, both Kiba and Naruto to meet her here. A couple more minutes and they would both be considered late.

Kiba walked into the restaurant, Akamaru on his head, and tried to sit next to Hinata. She wasn't in the mood, as could be seen by her partially activated Byakuugan, and she immediately pointed over to the next seat.

Five minutes later, being considered late, Naruto walked in and almost sat next to Hinata when he found Akamaru happily asleep on the seat. Grouchy, he sat next to Kiba.

"W-well, I think y-you both kn-know why I c-c-called you hear?"

Kiba and Naruto nodded. "You have picked me."

They both glared at each other.

Hinata started pushing her two favorite fingers together and tried to tune out their bickering. It went on for about fifteen minutes until Kiba bit his tongue on a retort, noticing Hinata was upset.

"So, why have you called us here?"

Hinata looked up at him, and then over at Naruto.

Naruto, she had always wanted Naruto, even since being in the Academy. He never gave up on himself, ever, and he always took care of his friends. Plus, he had finally noticed Hinata's attentions.

Kiba; kind, loud, funny, caring, and smarter than Naruto. He was everything Naruto was and more. Plus, those canine teeth were really cute, and Ten-ten was right, Kiba had a cute butt.

Hinata felt her mouth go dry as she tried to answer. "Umm…" she dug into her pockets for something. She had something in each pocket. In her left pocket, she had all the gifts Kiba had given her, and in the other, she had the moonstone necklace.

She produced something from her right pocket and gave it to Naruto. "I…I must give this back t-t-to you, N-Naruto-kun."

Naruto smiled sadly and looked at the case. He pushed it back over to her. "Keep it, it looks better on you than anybody else." And with that, he got up, leaving.

Kiba blinked. "Wait a minute, does that mean I won?"

Hinata felt herself mentally crash. Naruto had just made Kiba look really stupid.

Kiba smirked. "I'm kidding!"

Hinata sighed.

"So, you want to come over to the clinic? The X-ray machine just broke…"

Hinata bobbed her head happily. Getting up, Kiba extended his hand to her as she took it.

"So, does this mean we are dating?"

Hinata nodded. Sometimes, Kiba wasn't all that much smarter than Naruto.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Ok, fine, I couldn't decide between the two, so I am writing a second alternate Hinata's Ending, this one ending with Naruto getting the girl…but which girl?**_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Naruto slid into the seat next to Kiba, giving him one glare, before settling on Hinata.

"S-so I g-g-guess you b-both know wh-why you are h-here?" Hinata asked, her stutter getting progressively worse.

Hinata began to fiddle with her pockets when both Kiba and Naruto nodded.

Ahh man I hope she picks me, I hope she picks me, I hope she picks me.

Hinata produced a handful of things and put them on the table. A little clay statue that looked like an eagle, a hair-barrette, a bracelet with some charms, and a few other weird looking things that looked like they meant a lot.

Naruto sighed. Hinata was picking him.

"K-Kiba-kun, I am s-sorry."

"Wait!" Naruto stood up. "I have a confession! Kiba cares about you more than I do."

Hinata looked over at him. "N-N-Naruto-kun?"

"Keep the necklace, it looks better on you than it would anybody else." And with that, he walked away, leaving the new couple alone.

Ten-ten suddenly walked up to him and smiled. Neji was right behind her, not really paying attention. "Hey Naruto, has anybody ever told you that you have a really nice butt, even better than Neji's."

Naruto and Neji's reactions were the same.

"He has a cuter but than me?"

"I have a cuter but than him?"

Ten-ten nodded, positively beaming. "Yep, so how about a date?"

Neji watched the two walk away. What had just happened?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Ok, so that was soooo totally random. But, in the end, I guess I am bias, because I ABSOLUTELY LOVE KIBA! So, I decided to make Naruto the hero and he gets Ten-ten, practically stealing her from Neji. I wonder if Ten-ten/Naruto has ever been explored…I might have to look into that. **_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

TWELVE YEARS LATER!

Asuma sat with Kakashi at the ramen shop, listening to the man talk.

"Yep, they are having another kid." He said, kind of depressed. "I mean, you would think when the twins ended up looking like fish people, with blue skin, you would know not to have more. But noooo, they just had to go and get pregnant again. They plan on naming this next one Kisame, whether it is a boy or a girl."

Asuma patted the grandfather's shoulder. "We are getting old, Kakashi, not having grandchildren won't matter. At least Aki lived, right?"

"Yeah, and Gaara and Sakura are doing pretty well, after living for ten-years out of the hospital. They have been traveling the different lands, they send mail every once in a while."

Asuma nodded. "That's good, that's good."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_**Well, I guess this is goodbye. Goodbye story, I won't see you for another month when I go through and fix you up, making you absolutely perfect and the best thing anybody has ever seen!**_

_**Thanks for putting up with me, guys! These last three weeks have been a blast!**_


End file.
